Lemon Drop

The Lemon Drop is a simple combination of Vodka, Triple Sec, Lemon Juice, and Simple Syrup. As the name would suggest, there's a nice citrus element to this drink, but it's not too sharp thanks to ample Simple Syrup and, often, a sugared rim.

While it has the vibe of it, the Lemon Drop should not be considered or called a Martini. Sure there's plenty of similar drinks the the "'tini" moniker, but this drink just strays to far from the classic to take it. With that being said, there's not reason to push this into Martini territory. It's a great cocktail in its own right, so why ruin it?

While this cocktail is usually served up in a Coupe, you can also keep the same ratios while cutting back on the volume to create a shooter as well. Have fun.

Total Time 4

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

60 mL Vodka
15 mL Triple Sec
30 mL Lemon Juice
30 mL Simple Syrup
Sugared rim (optional)

Instructions

Coat the rim of a Coupe glass with sugar and set aside.
Add all other ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until very cold to the touch.
Strain into your glass.
Serve, enjoy.

Notes

The Lemon Drop came to us in the 1970's out of San Francisco, California. From there is grew in popularity to become a pretty well known cocktail. Overall it's a well balanced cocktail that's just really enjoyable.

And given that it's so well balanced, even if you usually like to cut back on the sugar in your cocktails, don't be tempted to here. There's a fair amount of Lemon Juice in this cocktail without much other liquid to dilute it. You risk making this drink way too tart if you don't add enough sugar. However, feel free to experiment and see what you like.

A Couple More Thoughts on the Lemon Drop

The Lemon Drop is an interesting one. As mentioned, it works very well on its own while also working well as a shooter. There’s not a lot of cocktails that can work well both as something to sip and as something to shoot. While the name emphasizes lemons as well, it’s actually pretty well balanced. Triple Sec is a little bit dry, but doesn’t add bitterness here, instead it helps dilute the Lemon Juice. On the other side, we get plenty of Simple Syrup to go up against the Lemon tartness. It’s not too sour and it’s not too sweet, at least in our opinion. For some, the 30 mL of Simple Syrup may actually be too much for them. If you’re one of those people, feel free to adjust the ratios in this recipe to suit what you like. If you want a Lemon Drop that has a lot of Lemon taste, so be it!

Is there a way to increase the ingredients so I can make multiple Lemon Drops?

Yes, but remember that this is a shaken cocktail, so it’s up to what you can fit in your shaker. Don’t turn this recipe into a stirred cocktail just so you can make Lemon Drops in a jug or something like that. Shaking the cocktail ensures you get the right kind of mixing, especially for the Lemon Juice.

So feel free to make two or three of these in a shaker at the same time, but no more.

If I make a Lemon Drop in advance, will it keep?

Probably not. The body of the cocktail changes when it’s shaken, mostly due to the citrus, but that will go away if you let the cocktail sit for to long. Make Lemon Drops to be consumed right away or, at least, drink soon after making them.

Is there a particularly good time for a Lemon Drop?

This really depends on whether you’re having this as a standard cocktail or a shooter. If you’re enjoying a Lemon Drop as a standard cocktail, we’d suggest it either as an easy sipping cocktail during a cocktail party or general cocktail occasion, or as a nice tart dessert cocktail. Both work, depending on what you’re in the mood for. If you’re not a fan of tart desserts, perhaps don’t go for the dessert cocktail option. But if you do like a tart dessert, this cocktail is perfect!

If you’re having a Lemon Drop as a shooter, things are a little different. Shooters are there for a quick flavour hit along with a bit of alcohol hit. Personally, we here at What Cocktail Can I Make prefer a proper cocktail, as we like to sit and actually think about what we’re drinking. But hey, you do you. If you’re shooting a cocktail like this, consider it early as a bit of a taste bud cleanser or between rounds.

How strong is a Lemon Drop?

We’re going to say that it’s the same as other cocktails. If you’re confused about what that means, we’re saying that it’s about average for a cocktail. Go ahead, browse through the recipes on this website. You’ll see that the alcohol elements of this recipe are in line with other recipes. The Lemon Drop is nice and average when it comes to alcohol content. It is, perhaps, a little higher than average thanks to the Triple Sec, but not too much so. The extra 30 mL of Lemon Juice and 30 mL of Simple Syrup water things down a little bit as well. Not as much as what you’d get in cocktails with lots of fruit juice, but again, it’s similar to other recipes.

What music goes best with a Lemon Drop?

The Lemon Drop is a pretty versatile cocktail, so it’s hard to pinpoint how it would go best with music. As mentioned, the Lemon Drop is one part cocktail party cocktail, one part dessert cocktail, and one one part shooter. Is there a type of music that covers all of that? Probably not!

We’re going to push into the dessert cocktail aspect of the Lemon Drop, as we feel that’s where the drink sits the best. So what do you drink after dinner? Well, we suppose it depends on what’s been served for dinner! Whatever it is, it’s something a little bit more mellow. Perhaps there was something more upbeat during the main meal but, as the evening comes to a close, things calm down a little bit. So we’ll leave this up to you (somewhat), as long as it’s the more laid back version of what you usually listen to.

Here’s some more cocktail recipes for you to try

Take a look through the recipes on our site by either browsing through them or going through some of our curated lists. We’ve linked the curated stuff below.

Top 10 Vodka cocktail recipes: to make it a bit easier for you, we’ve create a list of our top Vodka cocktail recipes. Hopefully you agree with us!

All Vodka cocktail recipes: if you happen to disagree with us (that’s fine), take a look at all of our other Vodka cocktail recipes. Maybe you’ll find a new favourite.