Lemon Drop Martini

A bright, sugar-rimmed vodka sour that drinks like its candied namesake — tart lemon and orange-liqueur sweetness balanced over a clean vodka base. Norman Jay Hobday is credited with inventing it in the 1970s at Henry Africa's in San Francisco, where it earned its name from lemon drop candy. It rose to fame as a 1990s shooter before settling into its modern stemmed-glass form; the canonical build leans on triple sec for sweetness, with simple syrup an optional touch for those who want it rounder.

Classic

Ingredients

  • 1 ozVodka
  • 0.67 ozTriple Sec
  • 0.75 ozLemon Juice
  • 0.5 ozSimple Syrupoptional

Garnish: Sugar Rim, Lemon Peel

Preparation

Shaken · Cocktail glass · None

  1. 1.

    rinse

    Run a cut lemon around the rim of a chilled cocktail glass and dip into superfine sugar to coat.

  2. 2.

    add

    Combine vodka, triple sec, and fresh lemon juice in a shaker over ice (add simple syrup only for a sweeter variation).

  3. 3.

    shake

    Shake well until thoroughly chilled.

  4. 4.

    strain

    Strain into the sugar-rimmed chilled cocktail glass, served straight up.

  5. 5.

    garnish

    Express a lemon twist over the surface and drop it in.

Flavor Profile

citrus
42%
dilution
28%
sweet
27%
sour
22%
fruity
19%
heat
16%
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