Lemon Drop Shots Recipe

The cocktail known as the lemon drop was first created at a 1970s San Francisco fern bar, according to Avital, and was meant as a "ladies' drink" back in the days when people actually thought that gender-based booze was a thing. Well, we know better after 50 years, so this is a drink that can be enjoyed by anyone of any gender — and legal drinking age. Recipe developer Jaime Shelbert considers the drink to be super "refreshing," especially when she puts a spin on it and making the drink as a shot. It's "like having a mini-sized lemon drop martini."

One thing that Shelbert says makes these shots "extra special" is the sugared rim. In fact, it's not just any old sugar that is used here, but sugar that has been flavored with a little bit of lemon zest. If you want to go for a citrus fruit trifecta, you could even garnish the shots with lemon slices or wedges, as well.

The ingredients for the cocktail itself are vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup. There's no need to buy commercially available syrup, either, as Shelbert says, "It's easy enough to make your own." Just mix equal parts of sugar and water, give them about 10 minutes so the former ingredient has time to dissolve (giving them a shake here and there helps too), then you're good to go. For rimming the glasses, you'll need sugar, lemon zest, and a lemon wedge. You'll need some ice to chill the drink.

Mix the sugar and the lemon zest, then run a lemon around the rims of two shot glasses. Dip the glasses in the lemon sugar and roll them around until enough of it sticks to the rim. Shelbert tells us that "simple glass shot glasses work well for achieving the perfect sugared rim," but glasses with a thick and/or rolled rim — or ones made of ceramic — may not work so well.

Fill a cocktail shaker (or an improvised shaker such as a lidded jar or thermos) with a few ice cubes, then add the vodka, lemon juice, and syrup. Shake the drink until it feels cold; 10 or 15 seconds ought to do it.

Strain the drink mixture into the prepared shot glasses. If you'd like to garnish the drinks, the obvious choice would be more lemon, cut into either wedges or slices.

If you wish, you can also turn these shots into a single lemon drop martini, instead. Shelbert does caution, however, that "two shots would make one strong martini," so she advises that if you do so, you may want to add some extra lemon juice and simple syrup.