When life gives you lemons, make a lemon drop martini! With only three ingredients, this sweet-and-sour cocktail comes together in a snap and will make you feel like you’re in a high-end martini bar in your own kitchen.
A lemon drop martini is perfect to enjoy any night of the week. While a martini always looks and sounds fancy, it’s not short on flavor and is actually so simple to make! A fun and fruity twist on the classic Dirty Martini Recipe, this is sure to become one of your favorite martini recipes.
Lemon Drop Martini Ingredients
The key to making the perfect lemon drop martini is balancing the sour and sweet. With just three ingredients, this recipe does the perfect job with that! For the measurement of each ingredient, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Vodka: Good-quality vodka is a big deal in martinis. That said, the most important thing is to use a vodka that you like the flavor of. See more on our recommendations below.
- Simple syrup: This homemade Simple Syrup recipe uses only two ingredients and tastes way better than the store-bought stuff. It is the perfect way to sweeten all of your favorite cocktails.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed is the only way to go in this lemon cocktail, and it perfectly balances the sweetness of the simple syrup. Skip the bottled stuff and look for lemons that are firm with a slight give.
How to Make Simple Syrup
How to Make a Lemon Drop Martini
This martini recipe is simple to make, as outlined in these easy steps. For the full recipe and measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Prepare your glasses. Rim your glasses with sugar and set aside, I share more on this below.
- Combine the ingredients. Add the vodka and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Squeeze the juice of about half a lemon into the mixture, making sure to remove any stray seeds or pulp.
- Shake, shake, shake! The longer you shake, the colder the cocktail will get, and this one is best when served ice cold.
- Strain into your prepared martini glass. Garnish and enjoy!
Pro tip!
To get the most juice from your lemons, roll them on the counter with the palm of your hand for a few seconds, or put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds before cutting into them. Half of a lemon provides enough juice for one martini, so you’ll be able to make two drinks with one lemon. Using a citrus juicer is a great way to make sure you get the most juice out of the fruit. I share the one I have and love below.
Lemon Juicer
Vodka Recommendations
Vodka is a big player in this vodka martini recipe, so the quality of your cocktail will rest largely on the spirit you choose. Luckily, there are good vodkas at different price points.
- Grey Goose and Belvedere are delicious top-shelf options.
- In the middle, Tito’s is our go-to.
- And finally, if you are looking to save money and still want to try this sweet martini, Kirkland Vodka from Costco has received very positive reviews.
How to Rim a Glass With Sugar
Preparing martini glasses for this lemon martini adds to the presentation of the cocktail and gives a little sweetness with each sip. To add a sugar rim, rub a lemon wedge along the rim of your glass and dip the rim into a shallow plate or shallow bowl of sugar. Roll the wet-rimmed glass at about a 45-degree angle to the plate and slowly turn to fully coat the rim. Shake off any excess sugar, and you’re good to go!
How to Serve the Martini
Since a lemon drop martini is shaken with ice, it’s best served immediately while it is ice cold. A martini glass houses the cocktail perfectly, but any small glass tumbler would do. We love to rim the glass with sugar to add a little extra sweetness to each sip. Topping the cocktail with a lemon twist makes the perfect garnish, adding an aesthetically pleasing pop of color and texture.
How to Make a Lemon Twist
A lemon twist is a simple way to add a little something extra to your martini. It’s a win-win since you also need fresh lemons for their juice, providing a visual treat as well as a refreshing aroma to your lemon drop martini experience.
- Cut a thin strip of lemon peel, removing the inside of the rind (the white stuff).
- Curl the peel around a chopstick or twist it with your fingers to make it into a spiral.
- Rest on the rim of your glass after your martini is ready. Enjoy!
Other Martinis
If you love trying new martini recipes, we have many recipes that range from sweet to savory!
If you shake up this lemon drop recipe, leave a comment and let us know what you think!
Lemon Drop Martini
Ingredients
- 2 ounces vodka
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice about half a lemon, strained to remove seeds and pulp
- extra lemon for garnish and rimming the glass
- sugar for garnishing the glass
Instructions
- Fill a martini shaker with ice.
- Rub a lemon wedge around the edge of a martini glass. Dip the glass in sugar.
- Add the vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup to the martini shaker. Shake to combine.
- Pour into the prepared glass.
CHARLOTTE ANN PICKETT says
This is so Perfect I’m always looking for great Lemon Drop Martini recipes,I sometimes substitute Cointreau instead of simple syrup and not all the fresh Lemon juice at once some Lemons are very strong so I’ll gradually add and taste 😋
Margaret says
Yummm! Made this today! It was simple and delicious!