Any lemon drop cocktail is a great gateway drink for budding home mixologists! Fully loaded with citrus-laced liqueur, tart lemon juice, and a touch of sweetness, it's an easy one to shake up. Whether you're in the mood for a martini or a lemon drop shot, you'll transport yourself in a cool minute to a swanky big-city bar. And without ever leaving your own kitchen.
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The Story
The lemon drop is not technically a martini. A classic martini is a savory drink of gin, vermouth, and olive brine. Not a pucker-inducing sweet sipper of vodka, orange liqueur, and lemon juice. The only similarity between a martini and a lemon drop is the serving vessel. And perhaps a lemon peel garnish.
The drink hails, like avocados and Metallica, from California. Cocktail historians (cool job, right?) place its origins in San Francisco in the 1970s. Inspired by lemon drop candy, this cocktail is a perfect marriage of tart and sweet scintillation.
The Ingredients
As I'm always writing, ingredients matter. And this is true for shots and cocktails, too. The better the booze, and the fresher the juice, the better the sip or shot. If you want to shake up a lemon drop shot like a bartender, chose your ingredients wisely.
The shot version of a lemon drop doesn't typically include orange liqueur. But Triple Sec or Cointreau is a classic addition to a lemon drop martini.
- vodka
- orange liqueur (only for martinis)
- lemon juice
- simple syrup
- granulated sugar, for rimming glasses
- lemon peel, for garnish
Choosing your vodka. While top-shelf vodka can bust the budget, you don't need an entire bottle for a couple of drinks. I tend to reach for a few minis when I'm buying liquor I don't drink often. A citrus-infused vodka like Absolut Citron will punch up the flavor or any version of a lemon drop.
Fresh juice is best. With the exception of cold-pressed juice brands, I find bottled lemon juice falls flat on flavor. For a pure, fresh cocktail of any kind, pick up the real deal. Most liquor stores stock fresh citrus. So after one-stop shopping, you can be home and shaking up shots lickity-split.
Making simple syrup. Because this cocktail mixer is so incredibly easy to create at home, I rarely buy it. If you do, I recommend reaching for a bottle made with pure cane sugar and no high fructose corn syrup. To make simple syrup at home, combine equal parts sugar and water in a small pot, bring it just to a boil, stir, and cool.
Choosing orange liqueur. Triple sec is typically the go-to orange liqueur for bartenders and home mixologists, alike. And for good reason - it's an acceptable, economical choice, if not worth jumping up and down over. But for lemon drop cocktails and authentic margaritas, I love Cointreau. It's sweet and wonderfully orange, and a bit more refined than triple sec. Blue curoçao is another fun orange liqueur to try.
The Formula
Sticking to the ratios of liquor, liqueurs, and mixers is the key to a great lemon drop. Balance is the secret to preventing your drink from running low on flavor. Or worse yet, burning your esophagus all the way down.
Lemon Drop Martini
- 2 parts vodka
- 1 part fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- ½ part orange liqueur, such as Triple Sec or Cointreau
- ½ part simple syrup
Lemon Drop Shot
- ⅔ part vodka
- ½ part fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ part simple syrup
How to Rim a Glass
The easiest way to rim a cocktail vessel with sugar or salt is to run a wedge of citrus around the rim. This will moisten it, so when you dip the top of the glass in the sugar it sticks. Any granulated sugar sitting in your pantry works fine. But you can also find specialty cocktail sugars with larger grains similar to turbinado sugar. To create a scented sugar, stir a bit of grated lemon zest into the sugar you use to rim the glasses.
- Spread a thin layer of sugar on a small plate.
- Run a lemon wedge or a damp towel around the rim of your glass.
- Dip the rim of your glass in the sugar.
The Method
The lemon drop - whether in a cocktail or shot - is a shaken cocktail served in a sugar-rimmed glass. If you don't own a cocktail shaker you can use two tall drinking glasses. Be sure one glass fits snugly inside the top of the other, lest you end up wearing your lemon drop instead of drinking it.
The Steps
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Measure and pour the vodka, orange liqueur (for martinis), lemon juice, and simple syrup into the shaker.
- Seal with the lid (or a second drinking glass) and shake vigorously until the glasses or shaker frosts over.
- Strain the drink into your glasses, and garnish with the lemon peel. For a spritzer, top with a couple of splashes of club soda, lemon fizzy water, or even brut sparkling wine.
Variations
One great reason to make your favorite cocktails at home is you save money. Another is you can experiment and tailor them to your diet and preferences. With the lemon drop, a splash of sparkling wine, club soda, lemon fizzy water, or even limoncello is a fun way to mix it up.
Lemon Drop with Limoncello
Limoncello is a sweet, syrupy lemon liqueur that Italians sip after a meal as a digestif. For a lemon drop martini (or shot) with limoncello, you can replace a portion of the classic ingredients with limoncello, or simply add it in. Your cocktail shaker, your rules. My favorite recipe for a single lemon drop martini with limoncello is:
Ingredients
- 1 shot of vodka, a lemon-infused brand recommended
- 2 shots of limoncello
- 1 shot of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of simple syrup
- a thin strip of lemon peel, for garnish
- granulated sugar, for rimming the glasses
The method for shaking up a lemon drop with limoncello is the same as any other: lots of ice, measure carefully, shake, strain, and enjoy.
Low-Carb or Keto
If you eat a low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diet, leave the simple syrup out of this one. The orange liqueur itself comes with seven grams of sugar, so there will still be plenty of sweetness. For even less sugar, ditch the triple sec and replace it with a shot (two tablespoons) of fresh-squeezed or cold-pressed orange juice.
The Spritzer
For a lemon drop spritzer, simply top a martini with a few splashes of club soda, sparkling water, or even lemon-infused seltzer water. For a real serious spritzer, top your lemon drop with a few splashes of brut sparkling wine or champagne.
Virgin Lemon Drop
If you're an expectant mom or avoid alcohol (like the rest of us should most of the time), here's how to shake up a sweet, zingy mocktail. This is also a fun drink for kids, and one in which you can control the sugar overload.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces (¼ cup) of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of fresh-squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoon of simple syrup
- club soda or lemon sparkling water
- a thin strip of lemon peel, for garnish
- granulated sugar, for rimming the glasses
Method
- Fill a cocktail shaker at least halfway with ice.
- Add the juices and simple syrup.
- Seal the shaker with the lid and shake until it frosts over.
- Strain the drink into a sugar-rimmed glass of your choice, and fill the rest of the way with your sparkling water, if you like. Garnish with a thin strip of lemon peel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lemon drop candy, of course! A lemon drop cocktail is a little bit sweet, a little bit sour, and strong. Most recipes call for a double-shot of vodka, so while the flavor is akin to its namesake hard candy the lemon drop is a pretty potent drink!
Orange liqueur is a staple ingredient in a classic lemon drop. But if you don't have it or don't want to buy it, you can leave it out. If you like, you can replace the orange liqueur with more simple syrup. Or more citrus vodka for a stronger drink.
For a vodka shot or cocktail to taste great, you need a balance of fresh mixers and quality vodka. Since vodka is 40-proof liquor, the best shots include fresh-squeezed juices, sweet cordials, and a little bit of simple syrup. Always follow a reliable recipe from a reputable source, as this will help you achieve a nice balance of flavors. And your shot will burn less on the way down!
Edible Epilogue
A fun way to enjoy lemon drops for a crowd is to procure a bag of lemon drop candy for a fun garnish or to serve out of a cute dish. And the candies are great to have on hand for that moment when you're taste buds want more sweet, sour lemony zing. But your liver is better off without another round.
📖 Recipe
Lemon Drop Shot & Martini Recipe
- Prep Time: 45 minutes (mostly inactive)
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 Lemon Drop 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Shaken
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Whether sipped from a martini glass, straight up as a shot or spritzed up with a little club soda, the lemon drop is the quintessential citrus cocktail. It's easy for the home mixologist and perfect for when wine or beer just won't do!
The measurements below serve one drink. Use the scale buttons to double or triple the recipe for two or three drinks.
Ingredients
For Simple Syrup
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water or pure lemon juice
- rind of one lemon, white pith sliced away, optional
For a Shot
- ⅔ shot of vodka (just eyeball ⅔ of the way up the shot measure, or 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon)
- ½ shot or 1 tablespoon of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ ounce of 1 scant teaspoon of simple syrup
- granulated sugar, for rimming glasses
- thin strips of lemon peel, white pith removed
For a Martini
- 2 shots or ¼ cup of vodka
- ½ shot or 1 tablespoon of orange liqueur, such as Triple Sec or Cointreau
- 1 shot or 2 tablespoons of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- ½ shot or 1 tablespoon of simple syrup
- granulated sugar, for rimming glasses
- thin strips of lemon peel, white pith removed
Virgin Lemon Drop Martini
- 2 shots or ¼ cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 shot or 2 tablespoons of fresh-squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoon of simple syrup
- club soda or lemon sparkling water
- a thin strip of lemon peel, for garnish
- granulated sugar, for rimming the glass
Instructions
For Simple Syrup
- In a small pot combine the water or lemon juice and granulated sugar and bring it just to a boil. You can add strips of lemon peel for more flavor.
- Once the syrup boils, stir it briefly, turn off the heat, and pour it into a heat-proof container. For added lemon flavor, let the syrup cool in the pot with the lemon peel submerged.
- Store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks. You can remove or leave the lemon peel in the syrup, it's up to you.
For Lemon Peel Garnish
- For an easy lemon peel garnish, use a vegetable peeler to remove the rind off of one lemon. You should end up with a few strips that are an inch or more wide.
- Remove any remaining white pith by laying the strips flat on a cutting board, outer-side down. Carefully slice horizontally with a knife to remove the bitter pith.
- Once all the white pith is removed, slice each larger strip of lemon peel into thin strips about a quarter of an inch wide. There's no need to trim the length of the strips.
- Store leftover garnish in the refrigerator.
To Rim a Glass
- Spread a thin layer of granulated sugar on a small plate.
- Run a lemon wedge or a damp towel around the rim of your glass.
- Dip the rim of your glass in the sugar and set it aside while you shake the cocktail.
For the Cocktail
- Combine all of the liquor, liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup, and a good helping of ice in a cocktail shaker.
- Seal with the lid and shake until the shaker frosts over.
- Strain the shot or martini into your rimmed glass. For a lemon drop spritzer, top a martini with a couple of splashes of club soda, lemon sparkling water, or even brut champagne or sparkling wine.
Notes
The amount of sugar or simple syrup in any cocktail is up to you. If you prefer a less sweet cocktail or are watching your sugar intake, cut out the simple syrup, or use less.
For Lemon Sugar
For even more lemon zing, you can add grated lemon zest to the sugar you use to rim the glasses. Simply use a microplane grater or a box grater on the smallest holes to grate the peel off of one lemon. Then mix the zest with about half of a cup of sugar and use it to rim the glasses.
Low-Carb or Keto
If you eat a low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diet, leave the simple syrup out of this one. The orange liqueur itself comes with seven grams of sugar, so there will still be plenty of sweetness. For even less sugar, ditch the triple sec and replace it with a shot (or two tablespoons) of fresh-squeezed or cold-pressed orange juice.
Lemon Drop with Limoncello
Limoncello is a sweet, syrupy lemon liqueur that Italians sip after a meal as a digestif. For a lemon drop martini, I like to replace the triple sec with two shots of limoncello and cut the vodka back to one shot.
Nutrition Information
The Nutrition Information below is for one lemon drop martini per the recipe above. It doesn't include any sugar you use to rim the glasses.
Keywords: lemon drop shot recipe, lemon drop with limoncello, lemon cocktails, lemon drop without alcohol
Ashe
This recipe is so good. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
Sharon
Thanks for the tips on cutting out some sugar! A regular lemon drop is far too sweet for me and my husband's diabetic.
Christina
Same, Sharon! My husband avoids sugar, so I replace the syrup in his with more lemon juice. Cheers!