Lemon Drop Martini

Melissa had a brilliant idea last week to hang out and watch the Grammy's with a few drinks. I grabbed a few ingredients and we whipped these up. Then we whipped up a couple more last night for Valentines day. I considered whipping up one for myself today (you know, to celebrate lunch) but thought maybe that would be too much.

(You'll need a cocktail shaker for this)

Ingredients:

Citrus Vodka (I like Absolut or Skyy)

Limoncello

Cointreau (Triple sec would also work, as would Gran Gala or Grand Marnier for those of you who are a bit more 'fancy-pants')

Lemons

Sugar

Directions:

1. Cut the lemon into circles and slice one of the circles down the middle, almost cutting it in half. 

2. Pour some of the sugar onto a small plate. Take the sliced lemon circle, rub the inside around the edge of a martini glass, and then press the glass rim into the sugar on the plate. Hang the lemon circle on the edge of the glass for garnish

3. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice, add 1 part citrus vodka, 1 part limoncello, and 1/2 part cointreau. Take the rest of the lemon and squeeze it into the shaker.

4. Pop the lid on your shaker and shake vigorously. If you've got a metal shaker, shake until it becomes too cold to hold comfortably. If you have a plastic shaker, shake until the mixture is cloudy. 

5. Strain into your martini glasses and drink 'em. 

Side note - I grabbed some black grapes to serve with this, and it was delicious. I made a garnish out of them, too. I took a toothpick, ran it through one edge of the lemon circle, jabbed it through the grape, and then put it through the other edge of the lemon circle. (it's hard to explain with words). An easy way would be to just drop a grape or two into the bottom of the glass so it gets cold and lemony and boozy.