No. 28Vodka & Gin Pickle Cocktails
Dill Pickle Lemon Drop
Sugar on the rim, dill in the drop.
The Dill Pickle Lemon Drop is the sweet-and-sour vodka classic with a savory twist: vodka, triple sec, fresh lemon and a splash of dill pickle brine, shaken and served in a sugar-rimmed martini glass. It tastes like lemon candy with a salty, dilly finish.
21+Updated
Brine2/52 of 5
HeatNonenone
StrengthHigh
- Glass
- martini glass
- Method
- Shaken
- Time
- 4 min
- Makes
- 1 drink
Ingredients
Make it for
Units
Amounts for 1, in ounces.
- superfine sugar (for the rim)
- 1 lemon wedge (to wet the rim)
- 1½ oz vodka (plain or citrus)
- ½ oz triple sec
- ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
- ½ oz simple syrup (1:1 sugar and water)
- ½ oz dill pickle brine
- 1 lemon twist (for garnish)
- 1 sprig fresh dill (for garnish)
- Glass
- martini glass
- Rim
- sugar
- Garnish
- lemon twist and dill sprig
How to make it
- Run the lemon wedge around the outside rim of a martini glass.
- Roll the rim in sugar and set the glass aside.
- Add the vodka, triple sec, lemon juice, simple syrup and pickle brine to a shaker.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 15 seconds.
- Strain into the sugar-rimmed glass.
- Garnish with a lemon twist and a dill sprig.
Bar tips
- Sugar only the outside of the rim so it doesn't fall into the drink.
- Use a dill brine, not a sweet one; the sugar rim already brings the sweetness.
Make it your own
- Serve it as shots: halve the recipe, shake, and pour into two sugar-rimmed shot glasses.
Bar lore
The Lemon Drop is credited to Norman Jay Hobday, who created it in the 1970s at Henry Africa's in San Francisco, one of the city's original fern bars.
Drink responsibly. This one is for adults of legal drinking age. Want it without the booze? The zero-proof drinks are just as briny.
Full recipe: dillin.org/recipes/dill-pickle-lemon-drop
