Easy Lemon Drop Martini Cocktail

Easy Lemon Drop Martini Cocktail 30 comments / 15 reviews by Adam • April 1, 2020 30 comments How to make a perfect lemon drop martini cocktail with a homemade lemon sugar rim. Jump to the Lemon Drop Martini Recipe or watch our quick video showing you how to make it. Watch Us Make the Recipe How to Make a Seriously Good Lemon Drop Martini The key to the best lemon drop martini is balancing sour and sweet. This is one of our absolute favorite cocktails to make at home. Read on below to see our tips for making it. There are four things to keep in mind when making lemon drop martinis at home. Use Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice. The juice from a bottle just won’t cut it here. For one cocktail, you will need 1 ounce of lemon juice or the juice from half a large lemon. Use quality vodka. Since this is a martini, there’s quite a bit of vodka called for. You don’t need to go straight to the top shelf, but choose a vodka that’s smooth. A few of our favorites are Kettle One, Stolichnaya (Stoli), and Tito’s. Everything should be really cold. A lukewarm martini is no fun, so be sure to shake the heck out of it — if you want to go the extra mile, chill the martini glasses, too. Add a lemon sugar rim. You’ve probably noticed rim sugar sold at the store. They are a great idea, but honestly, much easier to make at home yourself. To make our lemon drops extra special, we add a simple lemon sugar rim to our glasses. You could certainly stick with plain sugar, but since you’ve already bought the lemons for the fresh lemon juice, you might as well whip up this zesty sugar, right? To make it, rub the zest of one lemon into granulated sugar. Easy! One more thing — you’ll need simple syrup for this. You can buy simple syrup at the store for convenience, but it’s really easy to make at home. Here’s our step-by-step instructions for how to make simple sugar. We made it in our recipe video, too — it only takes a few minutes. Recipe updated, originally posted July 2010. Since posting this in 2010, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear and added a quick recipe video. – Adam and Joanne 30 comments / 15 reviewsPrintEasy Lemon Drop Martini Cocktail PREP TOTAL There are three things to keep in mind when making lemon drop martinis at home. Fresh lemon juice is best, use a quality vodka, and serve the martini very cold. A few of our favorite mid-priced vodka brands are Kettle One, Stolichnaya (Stoli), and Tito’s. If you plan to make the lemon sugar, it is best to remove the zest from the lemon before juicing them for the martini. Then when you need to moisten the glass so that the sugar sticks, use the leftover lemon halves after juicing. Makes 1 drinkYou Will NeedLemon Sugar1/2 cup granulated sugar Zest from 1 lemon Lemon Drop Martini2 ounces (1/4 cup) quality vodka, try a citron vodka 3/4 ounce (1 1/2 tablespoons) Cointreau or triple sec 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh squeezed lemon juice (Juice from 1/2 large lemon) 3/4 ounce (1 1/2 tablespoons) simple syrup, see our recipe for simple syrup Ice Lemon sugar, for glass rim DirectionsMake Lemon SugarAdd sugar to a plate then rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers until tinted yellow and fragrant. Make MartiniMoisten the rim of a chilled martini glass with the juiced lemon, turn the glass upside down and twist into the lemon sugar, set aside. Add vodka, Cointreau (or triple sec), lemon juice, simple syrup and a handful of ice to a cocktail shaker. Shake for 30 seconds or until very cold. Strain into the prepared martini glass and serve immediately. Adam and Joanne's TipsNutrition Facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values. If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste Nutrition Per Serving: Calories 256 / Protein 0 g / Carbohydrate 21 g / Dietary Fiber 0 g / Total Sugars 20 g / Total Fat 0 g / Saturated Fat 0 g / Cholesterol 0 mgAUTHOR: Adam and Joanne Gallagher Don’t Miss Our Latest Recipes Crave-Worthy Homemade Enchilada Sauce Easy Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes From Scratch Extra Easy Black Bean Burgers Our Favorite Blueberry Pancakes Quick and Easy Salsa Ultra-Satisfying Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Subscribe to Our NewsletterSubscribe to our newsletter with easy, delicious, and fresh recipes and receive our eCookbook with 16 of our most loved recipes for free! Click Go to signup for free! Hungry For More? 20 Minute Mashed Cauliflower Easy Vanilla Peach Muffins Recipe Easy 20 Minute Oven Baked Trout Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad with Cucumbers and Olives Quick and Easy Creamy Vegetable Soup Easy, Homemade Cherry Pie Recipe 30 comments… Leave a Comment Debra Gepner January 19, 2020, 5:25 pm Hands down this recipe is the best! Reply Kim December 19, 2019, 4:00 pm Fantastic fresh yummy. I used a simple syrup made with Demerara sugar rather than white sugar. Also used.vanilla vodka cuz that’s my fav!! Thanks for a great recipe! Reply Julia Larson November 18, 2019, 9:17 pm For fun I add a lemon drop candy Reply Jennifer October 8, 2019, 5:10 pm This recipe saved us so much money since we now can make a simple and perfect lemondrop martini at home! Thanks so much 🙂 Reply Nancy October 7, 2019, 7:49 pm I found this recipe to be too sweet. Too much sugar! Triple Sec AND simple syrup?😲However, I like other aspects of it. Leaves a nice taste in my mouth after I get over the sugar hit! I’m going to tweak it accordingly. Reply Dawn Hardwick September 27, 2019, 8:04 pm Lemondrop Martinis just happen to be my favorite drink. So much so, that I have name my Weimeraner pup Lemondrop. I have been searching far and wide for the perfect recipe for this drink. I HAVE FINALLY FOUND IT. Absolutely perfect right down to the lemon zest. You have ended my search. This truly is the perfect Lemondrop Martini. Thank you for forever… Reply BETTY June 15, 2019, 7:33 pm I would like to make these for a party – is there any way they could be made in pitcher form? Or if I want to make 3 at a time should I just multiply the listed ingredients? Thanks for any advice. Betty Reply Adam April 1, 2020, 12:19 pm Hi Betty, You can make a large batch and then serve cold. Just multiply the ingredients for however many drinks you plan to serve. Reply Bethany M Gormley June 3, 2019, 8:55 pm This Lemon Drop martini recipe is perfect!! My husband and I make it once a week for our date night and now we’ve made it so much we have it memorized. Thank you for creating such a wonderful recipe!! It’s amazing!! Reply LISA S LINDER May 29, 2019, 9:12 pm Absolutely perfect. I used 2.5 oz of Belvedere Vodka. Reply Brett Joeckel April 8, 2019, 4:58 am Thanks for this helpful information. Reply Terrie Wilborn January 12, 2019, 9:11 pm My dear aunt had a made up word that is appropriate for this drink “desluptious”. Love this drink. Reply Cheryl December 16, 2018, 10:17 pm I have fallen in love with this recipe!!! The lemon zest with the sugar, great touch! Used Tito’s vodka. Not too sweet, great balance. My new go to drink and will share it with company. Reply « Older Comments Leave a Comment/Review Cancel reply All comments are moderated before appearing on the site. Thank you so much for waiting. First time commenting? Please review our Comment Guidelines. You must be at least 16 years old to post a comment. All comments are governed by our Privacy Policy & Terms. * Required fields (Email address will not be published) Name * Email * Comment Subscribe to Inspired Taste's free newsletter to receive hand-picked recipes and as a thank you for joining our community, we will send you a link to download our free eCookbook! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Did you make it? How was it?:   Previous Post: Easy Homemade Simple Syrup Next Post: Lemon Garlic Sauteed Kale