Easy
Sour & Sweet
3 Minutes
Shot Glass
Ingredients
The Lemon Drop Shot is a vodka shot and a cousin of the Lemon Drop Martini.
It’s true what they say: good things come in small packages. Lively, sweet and zesty all at once, the Lemon Drop is the ultimate shot to serve on a tray at parties.
How To Make a LEMON DROP SHOT
Bar tools you’ll need
Fine Strainer
Jigger
Knife
Boston Shaker
Citrus Press
Jug
Hawthorne Strainer
How to Mix
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Use a Paring Knife to cut one Lemon in half. Set one half aside for Lemon Juice and use the other half to cut Lemon Wedges.
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Rub a Lemon Wedge around the rim of a Shot Glass to coat it in Lemon Juice.
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Pour a generous amount of Caster Sugar onto a Small Plate. Gently dip and twist the rim of your Shot Glass into the sugar until it’s fully coated.
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Use a Citrus Elbow to squeeze the Lemon Half into a Small Pouring Jug to produce Fresh Lemon Juice.
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Measure and pour the Fresh Lemon Juice into the Boston Shaker.
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Fill the Shaker with Ice Cubes.
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Shake vigorously for about 10 seconds, then separate the Boston Shaker.
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Place a Hawthorne Strainer over the larger tin of the Boston Shaker. Double strain the mixture by pouring it through a Fine Mesh Strainer into the smaller tin.
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Pour the mixture into a Chilled Sugar-Rimmed Shot Glass.
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Garnish by placing a Lemon Wedge directly on top of the Shot Glass.
Watch Rico make Lemon Drop Shots!
All About the Lemon Drop Shot
A Lemon Drop Shot is a simple cocktail shot made of Absolut Citron (lemon-flavored vodka), lemon juice and simple syrup. It’s a mini, concentrated version of the Lemon Drop Martini, and is a great choice for several occasions. It was created to replicate the sweet and zingy flavor of the classic lemon drop candy.
Sweet, sour and simple to make, the Lemon Drop is a perfect mini mixer whether you’re an amateur or a home bartending pro.
Its taste is reminiscent of the classic lemon-flavored candy, Lemon Drop, hence the name. It combines zesty, Fresh-Squeezed Lemon Juice with Absolut Citron (Lemon-Flavored Vodka), which is then sweetened and balanced out with the Sugar-coated Shot Glass. Because it’s a shot, all the flavor is concentrated, resulting in a sweet and sour flavor explosion.
It’s widely believed that the Lemon Drop Martini was invented in the 1970s by a bartender who worked at an upscale bar in San Francisco that opened in 1969.
Initially served in a cocktail glass, it later gained popularity as a shot, with the Lemon Drop Shot becoming a favorite among partygoers and cocktail enthusiasts alike. The truth is, I’ve made these during the holidays and they were a massive success. In other words, you can never go wrong with a Lemon Drop Shot, no matter the occasion.
Today, the Lemon Drop Shot remains one of the world’s most beloved shots.
- Chill your sugar-rimmed shot glass
After you have rubbed a Lemon Wedge around the rim of your Shot Glass and dipped it in Caster Sugar, we recommend placing your Sugar-rimmed Shot Glass in the freezer. In general, a chilled glass is pretty much always a good idea as it enhances the overall drinking experience. - Double strain your cocktail
While you could shake the Lemon Drop and then simply strain it into a shot glass using a Hawthorne strainer, we highly recommend double straining it. Why?
“Because we’re making shots, we want the most intense flavor straight away. If we were to just pour it straight in, we would have all these bits of ice shards that would sit in the glass. Even though it’s a shot, you don’t want anything to dilute the drink,” says Ricardo ‘Rico’ Dynan, Bartender and Absolut Global Brand Ambassador. How do you double strain a cocktail? Check out our article where we explain how to double strain and why it’s important. - Use quality ingredients
As we often say, the fewer ingredients you have in a cocktail, the more important the quality of each of those ingredients is. With this in mind, we recommend pressing fresh Lemon Juice instead of buying the bottled stuff. Similarly, we recommend using Absolut Citron, Lemon-Flavored Vodka.
- Lemon Drop Martini
The original that inspired the shot. Our Lemon Drop Martini recipe consists of Absolut Citron (Lemon-Flavored Vodka), Triple Sec, Lemon Juice and Simple Syrup, which is then shaken, strained, and poured into a Sugar-rimmed Martini Glass.
The two are very similar ingredient-wise except the Lemon Drop Martini includes Triple Sec whereas the shot does not. Yet taste-wise, the drinking experience is quite different, with the Martini version being sweeter and softer. Learn how to make the best Lemon Drop Martini. - Basil Lemon Drop Martini
Now here’s a fantastic Lemon Drop Martini variation you’ve got to try. Trust us! There’s something about the combination of basil and lemon. Mmm, mmm.
Want to make it? Follow the recipe for Lemon Drop Martini and then add 20 ml (3/4 part) of orange curaçao and some fresh basil leaves. - Lemon Drop Jello Shots
A playful alternative to the regular Lemon Drop Shot, this involves creating a jello and Lemon Drop mixture, and setting in hollowed out lemon halves.
Once cooled and solidified, you can cut the halves into quarters so your jello shots sit within their own bite-size wedge. A great addition to any summer party!
We recommend serving a Lemon Drop Shot in a Sugar-coated Shot Glass and then garnishing with a Lemon Wedge. It’s the classic way, it’s the best way.
Lemon Drop Shot FAQ
No, they’re slightly different. A Lemon Drop Martini includes Triple Sec whereas the Lemon Drop Shot does not. This gives the martini a slightly sweeter, rounder flavor.
The recipe for Lemon Drop shots calls for lemon-flavored vodka like Absolut Citron, but if you don’t have any – or simply want to dial back the full lemon flavor of the original – you could just use straight Absolut vodka.
