Lemon Drop Shot
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 22.2% ABV ∙
The Lemon Drop Shot is equal parts vodka, triple sec and fresh lemon juice, shaken and fine-strained into a shot glass — the Lemon Drop cut to shooter size. Sharp lemon hits first, the triple sec rounding it into a clean citrus sweetness before a quick, tart finish disappears fast.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Vodka 15 mlTriple sec 15 mlLemon juice 15 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with a sugar-coated lemon slice
Tips
- Pre-chill the glass before straining — a shot this small warms and loses its snap within seconds in a room-temperature glass.
- Shake hard and briefly, just long enough to chill and dilute the equal-parts mix without over-watering such a small volume.
- Fine-strain to keep pulp and ice shards out; a cloudy or gritty shot is jarring in a serving this size.
- Coat the lemon garnish slice in sugar right before serving so it stays crisp rather than turning wet and grainy.
History
The Lemon Drop Shot descends from the Lemon Drop cocktail, invented sometime in the 1970s by Norman Jay Hobday, founder of Henry Africa's, a fern bar in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco that opened in 1969. The cocktail was most likely named after lemon drop candy, and it quickly spread from Hobday's bar to other San Francisco saloons before becoming a fixture of American vodka drinking.
The shot version emerged later, in the early 1990s, as bartenders began preparing the Lemon Drop as a shooter served straight in a shot glass rather than the original stemmed cocktail glass. This shooter format pared the drink down, typically finished with a sugar-coated rim and a lemon garnish, and it became one of the most widely served shots in American bars.
FAQ
What are lemon drop shots made of?
Equal parts vodka, triple sec, and fresh lemon juice, shaken with ice and fine-strained into a chilled shot glass, garnished with a sugar-coated lemon slice.
How do you make a lemon drop shot?
Chill a shot glass, then shake vodka, triple sec, and fresh lemon juice with ice until well chilled. Fine-strain into the chilled glass and garnish with a sugar-coated lemon slice.
Why do bartenders dislike making lemon drop shots?
The complaint is usually about volume, not the drink itself: a bar slammed with an order of a dozen lemon drop shots means juicing enough fresh lemon, shaking each round, and fine-straining every one individually in the time it takes to pour a few simple spirits. Done properly, with fresh-squeezed juice rather than a bottled sour mix, it is one of the more labor-intensive shots to batch on a busy night.
