The Lemon Drop Cocktail

I recently took out a number of cocktail books from the public library in order to do some research. One such book was In the Land of Cocktails: Recipes and Adventures from the Cocktail Chicks by Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan. As per the Amazon.com listing for the book:

Proprietors of the legendary New Orleans restaurant Commander's Palace, Ti and Lally are cocktail divas, spread-ing the gospel about how to make drinks properly, from why a true Sazerac can only be made with Peychaud's bitters to why hand-chipped ice is best for cocktails. In this marvelously entertaining book—both a guide to making some of the world's best cocktails and a memoir of the authors' lives surrounded by family, friends, and delicious food—there are recipes for familiar classics like the Corpse Reviver and the Old-Fashioned; New Orleans favorites like Brandy Milk Punch and the Sazerac; and new inventions created by Ti and Lally, such as their now-famous Whoa, Nellie!

I highly recommend this fun book to anyone who wants to learn about classic cocktails and are interested in the New Orleans cocktail culture and history. You can also follow the cocktail chicks' exploits on their website In The Land of Cocktails.

One particular cocktail that caught my eye was The Lemon Drop Cocktail. Now this is different from the Lemon Drop shot that calls for a shot of chilled Citron vodka and a sugar encrusted lemon wedge. This cocktail does contain the Citron vodka, sugar and lemon but also calls for the use of Limoncello. And since I had a bit of each ingredient lying around, I decided to make one of these for Momma-San. Here is the recipe as listed in the book:

Lemon Drop
2 tablespoons of superfine sugar
2 lemon wedges
1 ounce of lemon or citron-flavored vodka
1 ounce limoncello

Place the sugar in a shallow dish or saucer. Wet half of the inside and outside rims of a chilled Martini glass with one of the lemon wedges and discard the wedge. Dip the rims into the sugar and set aside.

Combine the vodka, limoncello and juice from the remaining lemon wedge in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain in the prepared glass and serve immediately.

So as you can see, I made it as directed with one little alteration. Instead of using superfine sugar, I used granulated Splenda. In terms of the vodka, I used Ketel One Citron and Pallini Limoncello. I gave the cocktail to Momma-San who immediately told me that it was "Too Strong" but she quickly got used to it. The cocktail is a lemon lover's dream. I would say that it tasted like the lemon filling that you would find in a Lemon pie without it being overly sweet to the taste. The addition of the Splenda on the rim of the glass gives it a slight sweet taste to balance out the tartness of the cocktail. This cocktail is an awesome choice for someone who wants something light and tart with a hint of sweetness.

In the next couple of posts I'll be writing about a couple of new cocktails including cocktails named the Ginger Smash, the Nude-Tini Passion Fruit Cocktail, the Threesome and my first taste of the Peruvian spirit known as Pisco. So keep tuned for those libations in the days to come.

Until Then Happy Drinking,
Sisco Vanilla