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Are you thirsty? Good. It’s 5:00 somewhere, so let’s have a drink.
A few months ago I hosted a mom’s night out at my house. Mel had taken Jordan to visit his family in San Diego and well, while the kid is away, the mom’s will play, right? (Well, until we turn into pumpkins at 9pm.)
So anyway, I made a lemon drop martini for that party and it was so good, that I wanted to share it. But, true to form, I pulled a Dug the Dog and got sidetracked by sparkling water.
I wanted a lemon drop, but I wanted a fizzy drink. Then I realized I could be my own bartender, so I made my own drink.
I made a Lemon Drop Fizz: the best of a lemon drop with a little sparkling action. Perfect for a Saturday night, or a random Tuesday afternoon.
Because when you’re food blogger, the good light is at 1:00. You wouldn’t want to waste a cocktail. That would just be…wrong.
This drink could not be easier. I didn’t want to deal with simple syrup and all that, so I stuck with just a few components of a true lemon drop martini: limoncello, vodka, and sweet and sour.
I’m too cheap to buy flavored vodkas, so I used regular old plain. You could also use lemon vodka, if you have it in your pantry or like an excuse to buy a flavor.
{BTW, have you seen how many flavors of vodka there are out there now? Marshmallow, cake, chocolate, lemon, pumpkin, you name it they have it. If I bough all of the flavors I wanted to try I’d have to buy a new house to fit them all, but I wouldn’t be able to afford it since the booze is $15 a bottle.}
Limoncello is one of those liquors that you never want to buy because you feel like you have a ton left over after you make a drink and you think it’ll go to waste. Trust me – it won’t. You can put limoncello into anything. Or, just have a mom’s night. You will finish that bottle, I guarantee it.
The sweet and sour gives a little, well, sweet and sour to the cocktail. It makes it taste more like it’s namesake, the lemon drop candy. Which, by the way, is what I used to rim my glass. It’s totally unnecessary – you can use sugar – but the lemon drop candy makes it prettier and tastier. I crushed mine in the food processor. Tip: use ear plugs if you do that. Loudest. Noise. EVER.
Once you’ve shaken up those three components, you add it to a glass. I like using flat bottomed glasses because I’m a klutz. One, I will spill half my martini out of a martini glass (on my first drink, mind you) and two, I’ll probably break off the stem. So I like drinks like this, that I can serve in a tumbler.
To fill up the extra space in the glass, I added sparkling water. This gives it the fizz and makes it a yummy summer afternoon cocktail. I used plain sparkling water, but you could use lemon flavored. I was going to use diet lemon-lime soda (like Sprite) but then the fizzy water caught my eye. For a sweeter drink, use the soda (regular or diet). This drink is sweet, but just a little.
You can also play with the measurements and add more (or take away) some of the booze to suit you. I know some people that like a little vodka and some that like a lot, so your “1 ounce” can be as heavy or light handed as you like.
That’s what I love about cocktails – you make them to suit you. Plus they taste good. And they’re perfect for a summer day.
Enjoy!
Lemon Drop Fizz
Ingredients
- 1 ounce limoncello
- 1 ounce vodka
- 1 ounce sweet and sour
- Sparkling Water plain or lemon flavored (for a sweeter drink use lemon-lime soda)
- Sugar or crushed lemon drop candies for the rim
Instructions
- Rub the rim of your serving glass with lemon or water, then turn upside down on a plate of sugar or crushed lemon drop candies. Fill with ice.
- Place limoncello, vodka, and sweet and sour in a martini shaker filled with ice. Shake, then pour over ice in glass. Fill remainder of glass with sparkling water or lemon-lime soda.
Watermelon Lemonade {Martini + Kid-Friendly}
Sweets from friends:
Raspberry Lime Margarita Fizz by Averie Cooks
My Three Sons {non-alcoholic summer drink} by Something Swanky
Tropical Tea by Wine & Glue
Last Updated on May 13, 2020
It was delicious for a night-alone drink. I had 2 drinks, the first made exactly to the recipe. It was so delicious. Walking back to my recliner I quickly topped off with a shot of Everclear and Grenadine.
Not much stronger but a bit sweeter. A different pleasing taste. You might notice a hard walk going to bed too.
Thunk! I slept all night.
Haha, liquor never goes to waste in our house. We love a good cocktail, and this one sounds great.
So refreshing and perfect for Summer! Pinned and shared on my FB page! 🙂
Thanks for sharing Jamie!
So true about drinking at 1 pm as a food blogger! That’s basically our 5 o’clock… It’s when the first part of our workday is done anyway, right?? 😉 Love how you mixed up your own drink, and it looks so fun and refreshing!
I could use a trough of these right this very second. So refreshing and EASY.
I can totally see where this would be super fun for a ladies night out! Thanks for sharing.
This looks so refreshing! I love regular lemon drops, but with this fizz makes this extra delicious! Pinned!
My 90 yr old grandma is known in her neighborhood for being the queen of lemon drops. I’ve never been a huge fan of the martini, but with some fizz, I think I’d like it! I’m a vodka soda and lime girl, so this sounds right up my alley.
When finishing a cocktail is your job, you know you’ve got it good!
Love that this is sparkling. So ingenious!
I’m having a glass of wine right now & it’s amazing!This looks like it would be refreshing for next weekends party. Thanks for sharing! I hope your having a great Saturday!
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