A lemon drop martini is a sweet and tart cocktail, and I love to add a floral twist with lavender syrup. The end result is a floral and bright lavender lemon drop cocktail that looks right at home at the fanciest of dinner tables—but it’s also simple enough to make for a quick weeknight drink!
This pale pink lavender-flavored drink is naturally colored, too: Homemade lavender simple syrup contains anthocyanin, which is a natural pigment that changes color depending on the pH level. When the acidic lemon juice mixes with the purple syrup, the drink turns a pale pink, just like in a lavender mojito! You can see this effect more prominently with my color-changing lavender lemonade.
Ingredients for Lavender Lemon Drop
The lemon drop martini is a classic with vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup. With a couple of easy twists, I made it lavender-flavored! Please see each bullet point for substitutions and recommendations.
- Vanilla vodka. This cocktail can be made with vanilla or plain vodka. I like the added hint of vanilla, but you don’t need to buy it specifically for this drink.
- Lemon juice. I highly recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice (that way you can also use the rind to make a lemon twist for garnish). Bottled lemon juice will still work if you’re in a pinch.
- Lavender syrup. Homemade lavender simple syrup or even a store-bought lavender syrup (like Monin) work best here! You could also substitute my honey lavender syrup if you want a more complex flavor close to a bee’s knees.
- Lemon twist and lavender sprig (for garnish). This was my first time making lemon twists, and I think they turned out nicely! I followed this tutorial on how to make lemon twists with a paring knife.
If you don’t have vodka on hand but you do have gin, try my lavender bee’s knees cocktail instead!
Quick Tips for Prepping Lavender Lemon Martini
This lavender cocktail comes together easily with little fuss. Simply mix the vanilla vodka, lemon juice, and lavender syrup in a shaker with ice, then strain into a coupe glass.
Here are a few tips and suggestions to make this lavender lemon cocktail your own:
- Lemon drop martinis are typically served with a sugar rim; you’re welcome to add one, but I didn’t think this lavender version needed it!
- Fresh squeezed lemon will give you the best flavor, and you can use the peel to make a lemon twist garnish.
- Lavender contains anthocyanin, a natural pigment that changes color in different pH levels. A homemade lavender simple syrup made from high-quality lavender buds will turn a cute pale pink once the lemon juice is added! I haven’t tested this with store-bought lavender syrup to know if the cocktail turns out this pink—if you have, please let me know in the comments!
- You want to use a shaker rather than stirring this drink together, as the vodka and lemon juice have different densities and will separate quickly without a good shake.
Other Recipes You May Enjoy
This is the third recipe of my lavender drink week for April 2024. If you like this, you’ll also probably like my lavender old fashioned, lavender bee’s knee’s, lavender mojito, and lavender lemonade recipes.
If you also love lavender in desserts, my lavender madeleines, lavender chocolate chip cookies, and lemon lavender macarons are right up your alley!
Dish Cleanup: Piece of Cake
I rate my recipe cleanups on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is only a handful of dishes, and 5 is everything including the kitchen sink.
This lavender lemon martini recipe has a cleanup rating of a 1. There’s a shaker, jigger, and knife, along with a cutting board and maybe a chopstick if you want to make lemon twists. My shaker has an integrated jigger, which I really appreciate to cut down on one extra dish!
Lavender Lemon Martini Recipe
Thanks so much for stopping by!
If you make this lavender lemon drop and love it, please don’t forget to leave a review to let others know how it turned out.
Lavender Lemon Drop
Ingredients
- 1½ oz (45 ml) vanilla vodka or plain vodka
- 1½ oz (45 ml) lemon juice about 1 lemon
- 1 oz (30 ml) lavender simple syrup
- Ice for shaking
- 1 Lavender sprig or lemon twist for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, then add vanilla vodka, lemon juice, and lavender syrup.1½ oz (45 ml) vanilla vodka, 1½ oz (45 ml) lemon juice, Ice, 1 oz (30 ml) lavender simple syrup
- Shake for 15-20 seconds, then strain into a martini or coupe glass (sugar rim optional).
- Garnish with a sprig of lavender and/or a lemon twist, if desired.1 Lavender sprig or lemon twist
Video
Notes
Recommended Supplies
Nutrition
I’d love to see how your lavender lemon drop turns out: Take a photo and tag me on Instagram @floralapronblog to share with me, or use the hashtag #floralapronbakes.
This is one of my favorite floral cocktails! The vanilla vodka adds a nice creaminess, but it’s great with plain vodka, too 🙂
I wonder how this would work with lavender vodka? Would it be too much lavender with the flavored vodka and syrup?
Hi Donna,
I’ve never had lavender vodka, so I couldn’t tell you for sure, sorry! I think it would be fine with the added lemon juice to balance it out, but it all depends on how strong the lavender is in the vodka. I’ll have to pick some up and find out for myself!
If you already have the lavender vodka on hand, I would recommend using that, then using an unflavored simple syrup instead of the lavender syrup 🙂