Outside the house was a neat garden and a lemon tree that Mandela had planted.
Dry vermouth (neat, a snip of lemon peel) has lost its identity as an aperitif or loungers' sip; it's incidental to gin or vodka in martinis.
Not least because Berry is a permanent fixture – there, presumably, to act as a comic foil, neat and handsome where Lemon is rough and ramshackle; the smart, sensible one to the host's raucous dimwit.
The tequila comes courtesy of George Clooney and Rande Gerber, who claim that many tequila-fueled nights led them to try to make a super-smooth tequila perfect for being consumed neat without the aid of lemon or salt.
It's sweet but only slightly so, and the lemon juice keeps it clean and neat -- and you alert.
Neat round tables, Earl Grey and homemade lemon cake, watched by rows of silent, quirky teapots.
But to experience all their subtle nuances, have them neat or with a drop of lemon.
Try two of each -- perhaps Fanny Bay, Belon, Malpeque, Kumamoto, Chincoteague or Thorndyke Bay -- taken neat or with a drop of lemon.
And I replaced sour cream with Greek yogurt — a neat twist, I thought — mixed with lemon zest, horseradish and cracked black pepper.
I took to Twitter for help, and tried everything that was suggested: hot water with honey and lemon; lashings of turmeric neat on a teaspoon; my own Feisty Soup with garlic and ginger, chillies, lemon and tomatoes.
