Today we’re sharing our recipe for the perfect lemon drop martini. It’s tart, sweet and perfect for happy hour. You’ll love this classic recipe made with vodka, orange liqueur, lemon juice and simple syrup. It’s easy and quick to mix up at home.
Related: Lychee Martini, Tom Collins, Classic Gimlet Cocktail, Paper Plane, Green Tea Shot, Pink Lady, French Martini, Dry Martini, Dirty Martini, Vesper Martini.
I love a lightly sweet but bold flavored cocktail—and that’s exactly what this lemon drop martini recipe offers. If you’ve shied away from lemon drop martinis in the past because you feared they would taste too sweet, then I highly recommend mixing one up at home. You can easily control the sweetness by adjusting the simple syrup.
Ingredients in a Lemon Drop Martini
- Vodka or Gin Choose a high-quality spirit.
- Orange Liqueur Such as Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau
- Lemon Juice fresh squeezed.
- Simple Syrup You can buy simple syrup or make your own.
The best glassware for a lemon drop is a martini glass. You can also use a coupe glass.
Instructions
Like a classic martini, you can make a lemon drop martini with gin or vodka. Both work well and I’ve noted this in the recipe card below, but when I make lemon drop martinis I usually use vodka myself.
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake for 10-15 seconds until well-chilled.
Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and serve immediately.
You can garnish a lemon drop martini with a sugared rim, a slice of lemon, a lemon twist, lemon wedge.
Tips for Making
- The secret to the best lemon drop martini is fresh lemon juice (not bottled lemon juice) for this recipe. It make such a big difference in flavor.
- Incude a homemade lemon sugar rim. To make this combine course granulated sugar with lemon zest. Use this mixture to rim you cocktail glass, or half of the rim.
- Use citron vodka for extra citrus flavor.
Virgin Lemon Drop Martini Recipe
Learn to make a mocktail version of a lemon drop martini. This is one of my favorite mocktails.
If you are keeping it non-alcoholic, I highly recommend Seedlip spirits. For this lemon drop martini, I usually use their Grove 42 (citrus) flavor. Use this to replace the vodka and citrus liquor and otherwise use the original recipe with the same ratios.
How to make Simple Syrup
In a small saucepan combine equal parts granulated sugar and water. Simmer on medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once the syrup has cooled store it in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Get the full instructions for simple syrup or honey simple syrup.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a lemon drop martini made of?
The ingredients for a Lemon Drop Martini are vodka (or gin), orange liqueur and lemon juice and simple syrup.
What is the best vodka for a lemon drop martini?
Choose a smooth, high quality vodka such as Grey Goose or Titos. You may also use a flavored vodka such as Citron or lemon flavored vodka to enhance the citrus flavor.
More Lemon Recipes
- Try our Lemon Drop Shot or Lemon Drop Jello Shot
- Bee’s Knee’s Cocktail
- Electric Lemonade
- Pink Lemonade
- Arnold Palmer Drink
Get our FREE recipe guide with our most popular recipes of all time!
Free Popular Recipe Guide
Our top 25 recipes of all time!
Get the Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ounces vodka or gin
- ½ ounce triple sec
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- 1 ounce lemon juice (fresh)
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice add the ingredients. Shake well, until the shaker makes your hand feel almost frozen.
- Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass.
- Garnish with a lemon slice or rind, optional.
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Get our FREE recipe guide with our most popular recipes of all time!
Free Popular Recipe Guide
Our top 25 recipes of all time!
Get the Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Vodka (or Gin )
- ¾ ounce Orange Liqueur
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- 1 ounce lemon juice (fresh)
Equipment
- 1 martini glass
- 1 cocktail shaker
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice add the vodka, orange liqueur, lemon juice and simple syrup.
- Shake well, until the side of the shaker feels almost frozen in your hand.
- Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass.
- Garnish with a lemon slice or rind, optional.
Notes
- The secret to the best lemon drop martini is fresh lemon juice (not bottled lemon juice) for this recipe. It make such a big difference in flavor.
- Incude a homemade lemon sugar rim. To make this combine course granulated sugar with lemon zest. Use this mixture to rim you cocktail glass, or half of the rim.
- Use citron vodka for extra citrus flavor.
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This is a lemon drop.
It’s a cocktail, not a Martini.
Sipping this right now and it’s lovely!
Thank you for the recommendation of non-alcoholic spirits. I’ve ordered and can’t wait to try.
Thank you SO MUCH for including a mocktail! I have no problem with people drinking responsibly but I just can’t metabolize it properly and always appreciate an alternative for my teetotaler boyfriend and mostly alcohol-free me.
This is right up my alley because I am a lemon fiend! Also, I’ve been curious about that Seedlip stuff ever since the podcast episode where you mentioned it. Will definitely have to try both versions of this eventually, but for now I have gin!