A delicious Lemon cocktail recipe, this Lemon Vodka Martini tastes just like lemon sour candy. It works equally well as a summer cocktail on the patio as it does for Halloween cocktail parties.

I first shared this Lemon Drop Cocktail recipe on my friend Amanda’s site.

Lemon Martini Recipe

It’s almost Halloween as I’m writing this and we’re stocking up on sour candies and mini chocolate bars for all of the school parties and trick or treaters.

I thought it would be fun to come up with a sour candy-inspired cocktail for offering to friends, but I’ve never been a fan of those syrupy sweet and sour liqueurs like Sour Puss – they are just too fake-tasting and waaay too sweet.

Of course, since this is a homemade cocktail you can customize the sweetness (and sourness) to your personal preferences. Feel free to adjust and play around until you hit the perfect ratio for you!

This Sour Candy Lemon Vodka Martini the perfect sweet and sour complement to our Spicy Lemon Cocktail – they would be great as dual cocktail offerings at a summer party. I like to think of it as grown-up lemonade stand offerings.

While I used fresh lemon peel to garnish these martinis, I think it would be super fun to garnish with sour lemon candies to give guests a hint of what they are in for!

This recipe is also strong enough that it can be used as a sour candy shot, just divide the cocktail over a few sugar-rimmed shot glasses.

Tip: I often order my liquor from Drizly because they have a quick delivery time (sometimes within 40 minutes) and no expensive mark-ups. Purchasing from them supports local retailers, too. You can order the Vodka and Triple Sec needed for this recipe from them.

Ingredients for a Lemon Vodka Cocktail

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Makes 2.

Tip: you can use any orange-flavored liquor to replace triple sec if you don’t have it.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful:

Cocktail shaker
Liquid Measure
Shallow plate
Citrus zester
Chopstick
Ice maker

I really loved using my gorgeous Omishome Bartending Kit to make this recipe. The pretty bamboo holder contains all of the tools you need to make perfect cocktails, and those pretty gold tools add a touch of class to your home bar set-up.

How to Make a Lemon Drop Cocktail

First, sugar the rim of your glass.

You can use simple syrup to attach the sugar to the rim or water. It’s personal preference.

Place the sanding sugar in a shallow dish big enough to fit the mouth of your glass in.

Wet the edges of the glasses (using either simple syrup or water) and then immediately dip the edge into the sanding sugar, rotating to coat the edge completely.

Set aside.

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the remaining ingredients.

Attach lid and shake well.

Divide the lemon drop cocktail between your glasses.

Zest two small strip of lemon skin from your lemon, and then twist well.

(I find a chopstick is great for helping get a nice spiral, but you can just twist with your fingers.)

Garnish the glass with the lemon twist and serve.

Pin this super simple Lemon Sour Candy Vodka Martini:

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Yield: 2 cocktails

Lemon Sour Candy Martini

Name: Lemon Sour Candy Martini
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Cocktail recipe
Ingredients: 4 oz vodka; 1 oz triple sec; 2 oz simple syrup; 2 oz lemon juice; Lemon, for zesting

This Sour Candy Cocktail is a fun Lemon Vodka Martini that is traditionally known as a Lemon Drop Cocktail

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

4 oz vodka
1 oz triple sec
2 oz simple syrup
2 oz lemon juice
Lemon, for zesting

Instructions

First, sugar the rim of your glass.
You can use simple syrup to attach the sugar to the rim or water. It's personal preference.
Place the sanding sugar in a shallow dish big enough to fit the mouth of your glass in.
Wet the edges of the glasses (using either simple syrup or water) and then immediately dip the edge into the sanding sugar, rotating to coat the edge completely.
Set aside.
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the remaining ingredients.
Attach lid and shake well.
Divide the lemon drop cocktail between your glasses.
Zest two small strip of lemon skin from your lemon, and then twist well.
(I find a chopstick is great for helping get a nice spiral, but you can just twist with your fingers.)
Garnish the glass with the lemon twist and serve.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 231Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 9mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 1g

Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.

This Lemon Vodka Cocktail is a sweet and sour cocktail that tastes just like sour candy and is super versatile – it would work equally well in the summer as it would at a Halloween party.

For more delicious lemon recipes, check out our Lemon Sticky Rolls or our Lemon Poppyseed Muffins.

Lemon Sour Candy Martini