Sweetened with lavender-infused simple syrup, the Lavender Lemon Drop Martini is even more refreshing with an admirable floral touch. The Lemon Drop Martini, or Lemon Drop cocktail, itself is one of the most popular modern Martini riffs.
The cocktail is based on lemon-flavored Vodka. If you buy that in a store, it often contains only about 35% ABV, and the taste sometimes can be slightly artificial. But you can easily make your own lemon Vodka at home.
By pairing lavender with fresh and tangy lemon juice, the typical soapy taste of lavender is almost gone.
Why make a Lemon Drop with Lavender?
Lemon Drops have been established in the cocktail bar scene since the 1970s. And even though it's getting harder to find on bar menus, it's still a delicious drink. -Even more when you give them a little upgrade.
The tart flavors of fresh lemon juice go very well together with lavender. Both are pretty strong in taste but create a harmonic combination.
Ingredients in a Lavender Lemon Drop Martini
For making this cocktail, the list of ingredients is similar to that for a regular Lemon Drop. But instead of regular simple syrup, you add homemade lavender syrup:
- Lemon flavored Vodka
- Lavender simple syrup
- Fresh lemon juice
- Lavender bitters
- Lavender sprig for garnish
Lavender Simple Syrup
A DIY lavender simple syrup is what brings the floral taste of lavender to the cocktail. If you want it to be more complex, you can consider twisting the recipe a little. For instance, lavender goes exceptionally well with honey or rosemary. However, for this drink, we prefer the regular version.
Lemon Vodka
You can easily find a lemon or citron-flavored Vodka in stores. However, technically, most of these are not Vodkas as they only contain 35% ABV.
Plus, the taste of lemons in these flavored spirits can turn out slightly artificial. The solution? Make your own lemon-infused Vodka at home.
All you need for this is 3-4 medium-sized organic lemons and a bottle of Vodka:
Cut the lemons in quarters and let them steep in Vodka for 2-3 weeks. Make sure to give the blend a shake every other day, so the ingredients are well mixed.
The result is a genuine 40% ABV Vodka with a taste of natural lemons. -The perfect base for our Lavender Lemon Drop cocktail.
More Martini cocktails
Martini cocktails come in many ways. Besides the classic Dry Martini, you can find countless riffs that haven't much in common with the original.
Nevertheless, there are some delicious Martini drinks you should try. The Lemon Drop Martini is one of them, but a Chocolate Martini, Espresso Martini, or Dill Pickle Martini are high up the list.
If you want more inspiration, check out this overview of Martini cocktails.
Adding a floral garnish
For the Lavender Lemon Drop, sticking a lavender sprig into the Martini glass is the obvious choice. Still, floral garnishes for mixed drinks can be more than that.
There are endless ways to decorate drinks with floral ingredients to make them look more appealing. If you're interested to learn more, check out our guide about garnishing cocktails with flowers or petals.
Equipment
- 1 Jigger
- 1 Cocktail Shaker
- 1 Hawthorne Strainer
Ingredients
- 2 oz Lemon flavored Vodka
- 1 oz Fresh lemon juice
- 1 oz Lavender simple syrup
- 2 dashes Lavender bitters
- 1 sprig Lavender for garnish
Instructions
- Add Vodka, lemon juice, lavender syrup, and bitters into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.
- Strain into a chilled coupe or Martini glass.
- Garnish with a sprig of lavender.