Last week, I mentioned on Instagram that I got a bunch of lemons from our neighbor’s lemon tree. In Arizona we have a ton of citrus, so we are lucky to get fresh lemons, oranges and grapefruits very often and I prefer to use freshly squeezed for all our cocktails.
Lemon drops are typically made sweet by adding sugar or simple syrup. We like no added sugar cocktails around here, however, lemon drops would be very tart without any additional sugar.
There are 3 ways to fix the tartness without sugar- one- be like me and prefer tartness lol, my husband is NOT like this
Two- use Meyer lemons instead of regular lemons. Meyer lemons are sweeter and oh so good.
Three- add a shot of triple sec, it adds a light orange flavor which is very tasty & adds a sweetness to the cocktail
Meyer Lemon Drop Cocktail Recipe
2-3 freshly squeezed Meyer lemons
1 shot of Vodka
1 shot of Triple Sec
Shake in Ice and garnish with lemon slice, rim glass with sugar or salt (your preference)
I prefer a salted rim for my Meyer lemon drop, however many (if not most) prefer sugar.
Also, I’ve never had a sweet tooth, even as a kid, I prefer salty and savory. I am obsessed with potato chips. So, I am not on some high horse about sugar, I have my issues as well
I usually do not drink the cocktails I make because I shoot during day and have kids to watch and the cocktails are sometimes fake for the shoot. A vodka cocktail, for example, would normally be fake for a shoot since vodka is clear and water can be used instead. However, I did not have time to do tastes and create recipe so I did tastes the afternoon of shoot and used the final recipe in the shoot. I enjoyed the lemon drop cocktail after the shoot, lol which took me forever cuz I made such a mess that needed to be cleaned. which is also why you see ice in the drink, the drink was warm after shooting, Cheers!)
Lemon drops are my SIGNATURE cocktail. Anyone who knows me when they come to my home, they’re getting a lemon drop. I recently moved to LA and want to grow a lemon tree (for easy access, duh!) and I can’t decide between a Meyer or Eureka lemon tree. Everyone seems to say that Meyer is better, but am like you and like the brightness of sour (salty/savory person). I usually don’t like drinks that are too sweet. My recipe is 2 oz vodka, 3/4 oz triple sec, 1 fresh squeezed lemon, and if I’m feeling naughty calories wise, I add tsp of sugar. So it’s a pretty “clean” cocktail. I’m going nuts with this decision and thought maybe you had some insight! – Laura
Hi Laura! I like meyer lemons for cocktails since they are a touch sweeter (i dont add sugar to it and im fine with it). But I like normal lemons in my iced tea and anywhere else!