Our Favorite Lemon Drop Martini Recipe

If you’ve been around here awhile, you know how I love a delicious, fancy cocktail … especially when they are as big as my head.

I’m not a fan of straight martinis; I don’t actually like to taste the alcohol.
Instead, I gravitate toward the sweet Kool-Aid varieties: Appletinis, Cosmopolitans, and Lemon Drops.

Brian and I are huge fans of Lemon Drop Martinis. It’s our go-to martini order when we’re out. At home we tend to stick to Appletinis and Cosmos because they’re a lot easier to make (and also, because I make a killer Cosmo).

Over the years we’ve tried many, many, times to make Lemon Drops, but they’ve usually turned out a little bit too tart. We could never really get the balance right. When I finally learned you just needed to add simple syrup to achieve the smoothness I felt like I’d discovered the Lost Ark. But when I discovered you had to actually cook to get simple syrup, Lemon Drops at home were out, and Appletinis and Cosmos were back in.

I mean, it’s not like we were complaining.

Recently, however, on a trip to our favorite local wine store to restock supplies, our Lemon Drop dreams were reborn when Brian discovered pre-made simple syrup. Naturally we added a stop at the grocery store for a bag of lemons and high-tailed it home to try it out. (You can also find it on Amazon!)

After a few nights of trial, error, and adjustments (hey, I was doing it for all fo you, so you’re welcome) we landed on the perfect recipe:

This recipe makes two very small martinis, but I’ll be honest, we kind of prefer it that way, especially if we want to make an after dinner “sipper” on a weeknight.
Plus, if you want a second you don’t feel bad.

We recently found these cute coupe cocktail glasses at Crate & Barrel, which are the perfect size for tiny tinis (I don’t often buy two of the same style of glasses; I like variety), but Amazon has a bunch I love, too —

And my favorite mini-juicer that doubles as a measuring cup and is super quick to clean? This one from OXO –

You can make about four (very) tiny tinis with two lemons, but lately we’ve been just buying a bag. It’s cheaper, and let’s be honest, you know you’ll be making more before they go bad (and if you weren’t it’s a good excuse to — “Oh, darn, the lemons are about to go bad, looks like we’ll need to make Lemondrops tonight, wah wah”).

And if you’re reading this during the Coronavirus quarantine? There’s never been a better time.

Find more fun martini recipes right here