Classic Lemon Drop Shot
Vodka, fresh lemon, and a sugar rim — the shot-form Lemon Drop, created by Norman Jay Hobday at Henry Africa's bar in San Francisco in the early 1970s.
- 1½ ozvodka
- ½ ozfresh lemon juice(freshly squeezed)
- ½ ozsimple syrup
- sugared lemon wedgegarnish
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The Classic Lemon Drop Shot is the shot-glass version of the Lemon Drop cocktail created by Norman Jay Hobday in the early 1970s at Henry Africa's bar in San Francisco. Hobday's original drink was inspired by the sugar-coated lemon candy — a simple hard candy that delivers an intense burst of citrus sweetness — and he designed the cocktail to replicate that experience in liquid form with a proper vodka backbone. The shot version strips the martini-glass presentation down to its essential elements: chilled citrus vodka, fresh lemon, and a sugar rim. It became one of the most consistently ordered shots in American bars during the 1990s when the Lemon Drop's popularity surged through the martini renaissance, appealing to drinkers who wanted something sweet and citrus-forward rather than spirit-forward.
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