Meyer Lemon Drop Martini

I am thrilled to report that we finally thawed out a bit over the weekend from the deep freeze in Atlanta.  The sun was out and the temps were warm (comparatively speaking), so much of the snow and ice melted away!  Yay!

Us folks down here in the South just aren’t used to stuff like that.  We may sound like whiners we are wusses we are complaining, but when a major city doesn’t own but a few snow plows or have rock salt and it snows 5 inches, followed by ice and 18 degrees, you know what happens!

Anyway, one thing that brightened up my time in captivity snowy days was my delivery of Meyer Lemons fresh from sunny Southern California!

You might remember that my friend Kim, from Rustic Garden Bistro, was generous enough to ship some of those little buggars all over the United States to friends who begged asked for some!

Can I interest you in a cocktail?

I have preserved most of them to use in some very special dishes that will be coming soon.  I am letting them mingle in the fridge awhile to make sure the Preserved Lemons will be perfect to use in cooking.  They need to sit in the briney mixture to infuse the flavors.

As you might remember, I did have a few lemons leftover and was trying to decide what to do with them.  Well, I thought I might make something sweet, but guess what…a boozy drink won over the dessert item!  Are you really that surprised? 😉

This cocktail is a bit tart (hence, the name “lemon”), so if you like sweeter drinks, you might want to add a bit more simple syrup.  Alternatively, I think a sugared rim on the glass would be nice so that you could have a bit of sugary goodness in every sip!

I personally like mine a bit tart, so I was good with this recipe as is.  There’s nothing like a little sunshine in a drink to brighten up your Wintry days!

I know what to make with my next batch of Meyer Lemons!

Print Recipe

Meyer Lemon Drop Martini

Adapted from A Mingling of Tastes (recipe was originally from Martha Stewart Living)
Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 ounces simple syrup made with the zest of one Meyer Lemon
Juice of two Meyer Lemons
3 ounces good Vodka (I use Ketel One)
Sugar rimmed glasses, optional

Directions:

To make the simple syrup, mix equal parts of sugar (one ounce) and water (one ounce) and the lemon zest in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves.

Remove immediately from the heat and strain the mixture through a fine sieve. (* I did this so the mixture would not become too bitter.) Set aside.

In a cocktail shaker, combine ice, the simple syrup mixture, Meyer Lemon juice and the vodka. Shake for a few seconds and strain into chilled or sugar rimmed glasses.