Cocktail recipe
Lemon Drop Martini
A vivid vodka-lemon sour, with just enough sugar on the rim to turn tartness into pleasure.
Ingredients
- 60 ml (2 oz) vodka
- 15 ml (½ oz) triple sec
- 22.5 ml (¾ oz) fresh lemon juice
- 15 ml (½ oz) simple syrup (1:1)
- 5 g superfine sugar for a half rim
- Garnish: 1 lemon twist
Preparation
Rub lemon around only half the chilled glass rim and dip that edge in superfine sugar. Shake the vodka, orange liqueur, lemon and syrup with plenty of ice until piercingly cold; fine-strain so the sugared edge stays tidy. Express a narrow lemon twist over the surface.
Glassware
Chilled cocktail glass, half rim of superfine sugar
History
The Lemon Drop is commonly credited to Norman Jay Hobday at Henry Africa’s, the influential San Francisco “fern bar” he opened in 1970. It emerged during the 1970s vodka-cocktail boom, when approachable citrus drinks broadened the audience for cocktails. The specific original recipe and precise year are less firmly documented than the bar-and-creator association. “Martini” here denotes the later stemmed-glass presentation, not a classic gin-and-vermouth formula. The International Bartenders Association’s recipe and many modern house builds differ in sweetness; this Mixology version includes a measured syrup addition.
Mixology View
The half-sugar rim gives guests a choice between pure citrus and a sweeter first impression. It is a vodka sour, and should be proud of it.