Easy Lavender Lemon Drop Martini with Vodka

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This 5 ingredient Lavender Lemon Drop Martini is a perfectly refreshing, summery cocktail. A grown up, boozy version of lavender lemonade, this flavorful drink will keep you cool on the hottest summer day.

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Ingredients
How to Make a Lavender Lemon Drop Martini
Recipe Tips
Make Homemade Lavender Syrup
How to Make Your Lavender Cocktails Purple
What to Serve with a Lavender Lemon Drop Cocktail
FAQs and Substitutions
Looking for more Lemon Cocktails?
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Lavender Lemon Drop Martini Recipe

Like the Cosmopolitan, Lemon Drop Martinis arrived on the bar scene in the 1970s, making them a modern classic cocktail. And yet unlike the Cosmo, you rarely see Lemon Drops on a bar menu. Let’s make a lavender version of this classic cocktail using lavender simple syrup to upgrade it and change that!

Lavender and lemon are a perfect pairing, so we’re adding lavender bitters to the classic recipe and trading out the regular simple syrup for lavender syrup in this delicious cocktail.

This elevates a simple lemon cocktail to one worthy of a special occasion like Mother’s Day brunch or a bridal shower.

Because lavender is used in all kinds of ways, lavender drinks can sometimes come off tasting a bit like soap. Which is definitely not the delicious cocktail you were wanting!

Combining lavender with lemon keeps this from happening since lemon is an equally strong flavor, is an ingredient we see in cocktails often, and isn’t as readily used in bath products.

Ingredients

Vodka - Choose your favorite plain vodka for this recipe.
Lavender syrup - You can buy lavender simple syrup, or your can make yourself it in minutes! Get all of the instructions on my lavender syrup recipe page.
Orange liqueur - Cointreau is my orange liqueur of choice for this cocktail, but triple sec will work if that's what you have on hand.
Lavender bitters - I love what bitters add to cocktails, and this one benefits a lot from some lavender bitters.
Fresh lemon - Use fresh citrus ONLY in your cocktails. Skip the bottled lemon juice and squeeze fresh lemons. You'll need about half of a lemon per drink for this recipe.
Sugar - Granulated white sugar or white decorating sugar are both great options for garnishing the rim of your glass.

How to Make a Lavender Lemon Drop Martini

Pour sugar into a shallow dish. Run a slice of lemon around the top of a martini glass. Dip the rim of the glass into the sugar. Set aside.

Combine vodka, lavender syrup, lemon juice, orange liqueur, and lavender bitters in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

Pouring lavender syrup into a cocktail shaker. — Lavender Syrup (made blue with butterfly pea flower)

Pouring lemon juice into a cocktail shaker. — Fresh lemon juice

Shake well and strain into your prepared glass.

A lavender lemon drop martini being poured into a sugar-rimmed glass.

Garnish with a lemon wheel or curl of lemon peel.

Enjoy!

Recipe Tips

Make your lavender syrup ahead of time so it has time to chill in the refrigerator before you make your cocktails. Use any kind of martini glass or coupe glass for serving this cocktail.
Besides the classic sugar rim, add garnish with lemon slices, fresh lavender sprigs, or a little bit of dried culinary lavender buds.

Make Homemade Lavender Syrup

It only takes 3 ingredients, a few steps, and a little time to make your own Lavender Simple Syrup. It's so much better than what you buy in stores!

Lavender Simple Syrup in a glass bottle.

How to Make Your Lavender Cocktails Purple

As you can see in the picture above, dried lavender doesn’t turn the lavender syrup purple when you make it. It’s naturally a pale yellow color.

In order to have a purple cocktail like the one in the other photos on this page, you have to use butterfly pea flowers to turn the lavender syrup blue. Then use the blue syrup in this drink, which when combined with the lemon juice, will turn violet.

Find the full instructions for how to make and color your syrup over on my lavender syrup recipe page.

Stirring lemon juice into lavender syrup with butterfly pea flower. — Blue syrup + Yellow lemon juice = Purple drinks!

What to Serve with a Lavender Lemon Drop Cocktail

This sweet-but-tart cocktail needs a salty happy hour snack to go with it. I love my Bacon Wrapped Dates and/or BBQ Oyster Crackers with this Lavender Lemon Drop. These Charcuterie Cups are a super fun idea to serve with these when entertaining.

A plate of bacon wrapped dates. — Bacon Wrapped Dates

BBQ Oyster crackers in a bowl — BBQ Oyster Crackers

FAQs and Substitutions

Are Lemon Drop Cocktails Sour?

They shouldn’t be sour. While this cocktail is definitely more tart than sweet, the lemon juice is balanced nicely with the sweet lavender syrup and orange liqueur.

Where do you find Lavender Syrup?

You make it! Check out my instructions for making your own lavender syrup. Don’t want to make it? Look for pre-made lavender syrup - sometimes called lavender cordial - at your favorite specialty food and/or beverage store.

Do I have to use fresh lemon juice?

Yes. There’s only 5 ingredients in this cocktail, so fresh juice is important. Plan on about 1 lemon per cocktail. You will get aprox 1.5 oz of juice from each lemon, depending on their size.

What kind of orange liqueur should I use?

Any brand of triple sec or orange liqueur works in this cocktail. I like Cointreau or Grand Marnier, but feel free to use whatever brand you have on hand.

What kind of vodka should I use?

I like a plain vodka in this drink. My choice is a Michigan brand like Lake Life Vodka, Avani Vodka, or Long Road Vodka. You could also use a citrus vodka, like Absolut Citron, if that's what you have on hand.

Looking for more Lemon Cocktails?

If you love that sweet-but-tart combination of a lavender lemon drop martini, shake up a Lavender Bee's Knees with honey, classic Lemon Drop Martini, a Strawberry Lemon Drop with fresh strawberry syrup, or a Blueberry Lemon Drop cocktail with homemade blueberry syrup.

A pair of strawberry lemon drop martinis. — Strawberry Lemon Drop

Your Best Drinks at Home. Buy my recipe book, Homemade Happy Hour.

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Lavender Lemon Drop Martini Recipe

A glass filled with lavender lemon drop martini.

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5 from 3 reviews

This 5 ingredient Lavender Lemon Drop Martini is a perfectly refreshing, summery cocktail. A grown up version of lavender lemonade, this drink will keep you cool on the hottest summer day.