Lemon Drop
Prep time:
A short drink that tastes like lemonade with a backbone. The sugared rim is not decoration: you taste it before the liquid and it braces your mouth for the acidity coming behind it.
Ingredients
- 30 ml vodka
- 15 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 10 ml simple syrup
- Sugar for the rim and a lemon wedge
Preparation
- Run the lemon wedge around the rim of the shot glass, then press it upside down into a plate of sugar, turning it.
- Add the vodka, juice and syrup to a shaker with plenty of ice.
- Shake hard for about ten seconds, until the shaker is painfully cold. It is shaken and not stirred because of the citrus: shaking integrates it and gives that faintly foamy texture.
- Strain into the prepared glass, taking care not to wet the sugared rim, and serve immediately.
Bartender’s notes
Can you batch them?
Yes, and it is the sensible thing for a party: shaking them one at a time with people waiting makes no sense. Multiply the measures by the number of shots, shake in two or three batches — a shaker filled to the brim does not chill properly — and keep the result in a jug in the fridge. What you cannot prepare ahead is the sugared rim: it turns damp and clumps. That one is done on the spot.
How is it different from a Kamikaze?
In one thing only: the Kamikaze swaps the syrup for triple sec. Same vodka, same citrus, same method. The result is a little less sweet, with an orange note the Lemon Drop does not have. If you have one set up, the other takes nothing extra to make.
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