Lemon Drop
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 22.7% ABV ∙
The Lemon Drop is a shaken limoncello sour with vodka and fresh lemon juice, fine-strained into a chilled coupe. Bright and citrus-oiled from the expressed twist, it drinks silky and cold, with a tart snap that fades into a clean, faintly sweet finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Limoncello liqueur 60 mlVodka 30 mlLemon juice 20 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Express a lemon twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- Pre-chill the coupe before straining — the drink has no ice in the glass, so a room-temperature glass warms it fast.
- Use freshly squeezed lemon juice; bottled juice reads flat against the limoncello's concentrated citrus sweetness.
- Shake hard and fine-strain to keep any lemon pulp or ice shards out of the finished pour.
- Express the lemon twist directly over the surface right before serving so its oils sit on top, not just as a dropped-in garnish.
History
The Lemon Drop was invented sometime in the 1970s by Norman Jay Hobday, founder and proprietor of Henry Africa's, a fern bar he opened in 1969 in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. Built from vodka, triple sec, and lemon juice and served straight up, often with a sugared rim, it has been described as essentially a vodka-based riff on a Sidecar, or on the older crusta style of sour, swapping in vodka for the traditional cognac or spirit base. After its introduction at Henry Africa's, the drink spread quickly through San Francisco bars and later became a common shooter variant in the 1990s, served in a shot glass rather than a stemmed one. While Hobday's authorship of the drink is well documented, the exact circumstances and date of its creation are not precisely recorded, and some retellings place the story anywhere from the early to late 1970s.
FAQ
What's in a Lemon Drop cocktail?
A Lemon Drop is limoncello, vodka, and fresh lemon juice, shaken with ice and fine-strained into a chilled coupe with an expressed lemon twist. Limoncello leads the build here, giving the drink its concentrated lemon-candy character alongside the cleaner citrus of the fresh juice.
What are the three ingredients in a Lemon Drop?
Limoncello, vodka, and fresh lemon juice are the three ingredients, shaken together and strained up into a coupe. A lemon twist, expressed over the drink, finishes it as garnish.
Is there a difference between a Lemon Drop and a Lemon Drop Martini?
The two names generally refer to the same shaken, up-served lemon cocktail; "Martini" simply nods to the stemmed glass style rather than a different recipe. This build is served in a coupe rather than a martini glass, but the ingredients and method are the same drink.
What's the secret to a perfect Lemon Drop?
Balance is the secret: fresh lemon juice for brightness, a full hard shake for chill and dilution, and a pre-chilled glass so the drink doesn't warm before it's served. Expressing the lemon twist's oils over the surface just before serving adds a final aromatic lift that a plain dropped-in garnish misses.
How do you make a simple Lemon Drop?
Shake limoncello, vodka, and fresh lemon juice with ice, then fine-strain into a chilled coupe. Express a lemon twist over the top and drop it in as garnish — no sugar rim or extra steps are needed for this build.
