Latitude 42 Vodka · Recipe 15
Lemon Drop 2.0
The lemon drop grows up and gets a good haircut.
Ingredients
- 55 ml Latitude 42 Vodka
- 25 ml fresh lemon juice
- 15 ml limoncello
- 10 ml simple syrup (1:1)
- superfine sugar for rim
Method
Shake. Serve in a Coupe with sugar rim. Garnish with Lemon twist + edible flower.
Fresh lemon juice: Meyer lemon if in season.
The story
The original Lemon Drop belongs to 1970s San Francisco — Norman Jay Hobday's Henry Africa bar, where umbrella drinks and sour-sweet citrus shots were the currency of a good night. It became shorthand for a certain kind of uncomplicated fun, which is why cocktail sophisticates eventually abandoned it. That's a mistake. The Lemon Drop's bones are excellent — citrus, spirit, sugar, cold. Its problems were cheap vodka and too much sweet. With Latitude 42 providing proper alcohol density, fresh-squeezed Meyer lemon when available, and a touch of limoncello to bridge rather than overwhelm, this becomes a drink that belongs on any menu, pretension or not.
Tasting note
Electric lemon-gold, sharp and clean up front with a limoncello sweetness rounding the finish. The sugar rim adds crunch and contrasts the sour interior.