The Lemon Drop became one of the most popular cocktails of the 1990s, which is both a testament to the formula and evidence that the decade had complicated taste in drinks. The original is a vodka cocktail — lemon juice, triple sec, sugar — that lives in the sweet and sour neighborhood and tends to show up on menus alongside cosmopolitans and appletinis. Good drinks for their time. Not exactly what we’re after.
The Bourbon Lemon Drop takes that same foundation and rebuilds it with Four Roses Single Barrel, which means the drink goes from a sweet citrus shot to something worth thinking about. The vanilla and fruit character of Four Roses works with the lemon in a way vodka simply can’t — vodka is neutral by design, and neutrality is not what you want when you’re trying to make something interesting.
Four Roses Single Barrel is a 100 proof bourbon from Four Roses in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, with a floral, fruity profile that’s a little different from the typical caramel-and-vanilla Kentucky bourbon. It’s one of the more distinctive bourbons you’ll find, and distinctive is what this particular application calls for.
The Sugar Rim
A Lemon Drop traditionally comes with a sugared rim, and the bourbon version is no different. Run a lemon wedge around the outside edge of a chilled coupe, then dip it in sugar. The sugar sticks to the lemon oil on the rim and every sip that touches the rim adds a little extra sweetness that plays against the tart lemon of the drink. It’s not a technique — it’s a flavor delivery mechanism.
You don’t have to do it. The drink works without the rim. But if you’re going to make a Lemon Drop, do it right.
Balance Is Everything
The Lemon Drop lives and dies on the balance between tart and sweet. Too much lemon juice and it puckers; too much triple sec and it’s syrupy. The recipe here is calibrated, but lemon juice varies in tartness depending on the fruit, so taste before you shake and adjust if needed. The finished drink should be bright and tart with the sweetness catching you on the back of the sip, not the front.
