My Favorite Lemon Vodka Drinks
I love everything about lemons and I have put together some of my favorite lemon vodka drinks. These are popular in our home all year long.
We made lemon vodka and three cocktails, a lemon drop martini, a lemon-lime slush, and a lemon vodka tonic with just a little bit of raspberry simple syrup.
Lemon Vodka
I have made lemon vodka many times and it is so easy to make at home! This infused vodka only needs two items … vodka and lemons … to create delicious tasting lemon vodka to use in your cocktails.
You can make more by multiplying this recipe, but here is the base recipe that I use.
2 cups vodka (you can use any brand, but use a good quality vodka)
3 lemons, rinsed and quartered
Use a container with a lid that seals. Add both the vodka and rinsed/quartered lemons to the container. Store in a dark, cool space for at least a week. Taste to check on the depth of the lemon infusion. If you want it to have more lemon taste, leave it for another week and taste again for flavor. Once the lemon vodka is as lemony as you like, discard the lemons and reseal the container. Homemade lemon vodka, if stored in a cool, dark space will store indefinitely (just like any other vodka).
Warm Weather and Cool Cocktails
As the weather begins to warm up and we start to head outside more often, I love to begin a party, gathering, or just an evening on our back porch with a cool lemon vodka cocktail. There is something special about the lemony tart-sweet combination over ice that is the perfect antidote to heat.
The recipes I am sharing are really easy to make. Don’t be fooled into thinking simple syrup is fancy or complicated. It is just that, simple. Equal parts of sugar and water combined over heat until the sugar dissolves. I made both lemon simple syrup and raspberry simple syrup for the cocktails I am sharing today. Both will keep, refrigerated for 1-2 weeks so you can enjoy these wonderful cocktails for more than just one evening!
Lemon Drop Recipe
The Lemon Drop is a cocktail that first arrived on the cocktail scene in the 1970s in San Francisco. It started being served in a regular short cocktail glass, evolved to being served in a martini glass with a sugar rim, and is now also available as a shot. Beware, they taste just like the candy they are named after but do have alcohol in them!
- Combine the ultra-fine sugar and lemon zest together
- Wet the rim of the martini glass and then dip it into the sugar and lemon zest for a delicious mixture that tastes just like a lemon drop candy.
- Strain the cocktail into the prepared glass (see recipe below)
Lemon Drop
Just the right amount of sweet and tart. Lemon Drops are one of my favorite cocktails, especially in warm weather.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Vodka
- 1 oz Contreau or TripleSec
- 1 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1 oz lemon simple syrup
- Lemon Simple Syrup
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Lemon-Sugar for Rim
- 1/2 cup ultra fine sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
Make lemon simple syrup first so that it is completely cooled
- Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water to a small saucepan
- Over medium heat, stir until sugar is melted, about 10 minutes
- Turn heat off and add lemon juice.
- Stir to combine and let cool completely
- Lemon simple syrup will last 1-2 weeks if refrigerated
Next, combine ultra fine sugar and zest of one lemon and set aside
For the cocktail, use a cocktail shaker so that your cocktail is super cold
- Add ice to the cocktail shaker
- Add 2 oz vodka (I used the lemon vodka I had made)
- Add 1 oz Contreau
- Add 1 oz fresh lemon juice
- Add 1 oz lemon simple syrup
- Shake vigorously
To assemble the Lemon Drop
- Dip the rim of your martini glass into a plate of water (this will make the yummy lemon-sugar stick to the rim)
- Dip the wettened rim of the martini glass into the prepared lemon sugar
- Strain the contents of the cocktail shaker into the martini glass
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Lemon-Lime Vodka Slush
If you were a fan of slushies when you were a little kid, then this is the cocktail for you. This is one of my favorites for the summer. It’s tart and tangy and a little bit sweet and bubbly. I guess I still love slushies!
Fresh juice is the key to this slush. It is so easy, just measure everything into the blender and blend until you have a perfect sweet and tart grown-up slushie.
Lemon-Lime Vodka Slush
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup lemon simple syrup
- 1 cup vodka (I used Titos)
- 1 cup 7-Up
- 4 cups ice
Instructions
Make lemon simple syrup first so that it is completely cooled
- Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water to a small saucepan
- Over medium heat, stir until sugar is melted, about 10 minutes
- Turn heat off and add lemon juice.
- Stir to combine and let cool completely
- Lemon simple syrup will last 1-2 weeks if refrigerated
To make the Lemon-Lime Slush
- Add all ingredients to the blender and blend until slushy
Lemon Vodka Tonic with Raspberry Simple Syrup
A vodka tonic with a slice of lemon is my go-to cocktail order. Since I made my own lemon vodka, I decided I should upscale the cocktail a bit so added an ounce of raspberry simple syrup. The lemon cuts the sweetness of the raspberry and who doesn’t love the lemon-raspberry combo? It’s so good!
Flavored simple syrup is so easy to make and is an amazing way to upgrade a cocktail with flavor.
I used these amazing ice cube trays that make “ice cube sticks” which are great for water bottles or tall cocktail glasses. I added lemon slices to these for added lemon flavor.
Lemon Vodka Tonic with Raspberry Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 oz vodka (I used the lemon vodka I made)
- 1 oz raspberry simple syrup
- Tonic water
- Ice
Instructions
Make raspberry simple syrup first so that it is completely cooled
- Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water to small saucepan
- Over medium heat, stir until sugar is melted, about 10 minutes
- Turn heat off and add 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
- You can muddle (fancy would for smush up or leave raspberries whole, your preference)
- Stir to combine and let cool completely
- You can strain the raspberries out, if you like, I leave mine in
- Raspberry simple syrup will last 1-2 weeks if refrigerated
To assemble the cocktail
- Fill a tall glass with ice
- Add 2 oz vodka (I used the lemon vodka I made)
- Add 1 oz raspberry simple syrup
- Top off glass with tonic water
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It’s 5 o’clock somewhere! Here is everything I used to make these yummy lemon vodka cocktails.
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For every holiday I like to have a signature drink. I am going to use one of your drinks made with lemons and limes. Thanks for sharing.
Tudy Ellis
Oh yay! Let me know what you think!
Thank you Leslie, for these recipes. They look so good and I love that you don’t need an arsenal of liquor to make them. Cheers to summer!
Yay! Thanks Barb!
These sound delicious for summer. Can’t wait to try them. Yum!!
They are sooo yummy! Thanks!
Oh yumm – Lemon Drop is one of my favorites! The others look great too. We got snow on Monday, so we’ve got a ways to go for warm weather, but I might have to practice a little first! 🙂 Thanks for the great recipes, and for the whisper of summer!
We are so close!