You Need To Try This Delicious Local Twist on The Lemon Drop Cocktail

You Need To Try This is a running archive of all the awesome drinks and dishes we’ve come across over the course of our professional and private lives — or at least the ones that we have the presence of mind and patience to photograph before they get in our bellies.

The Lemon Drop cocktail at The Lobby Lounge | Photo: Talia Kleinplatz

A Lemon Drop cocktail conjures up many an image, particularly from the 80’s. Perhaps Tom Cruise in an ill-fitting Hawaiian-print shirt, flare bartending in a nightclub next to Doug Coughlin. Cruise gives an all-too-obvious side glance at the woman on the other side of the bar as he passes her a martini glass filled to the brim with lemon-flavoured vodka. Vaguely tacky, kinda mediocre. Trust me when I say the updated Lemon Drop at The Lobby Lounge is not that. It’s evolved, balanced and cheeky. Most importantly, it’s f*%#ing delicious.

Head Barman Sean McGuigan knew exactly what he was doing when he decided to riff this classic. His clientele has a penchant for vodka and vodka-based cocktails, and he felt he could create something special that spoke to their tastes by elevating the mediocre Lemon Drop to a new level.

Sean McGuigan at work | Photo: Talia Kleinplatz

Instead of following the classic recipe which combines vodka, lemon juice, triple-sec and sugar, McGuigan created a lemon-thyme oleo saccharum (sugar infused with citrus-based essential oils). He builds the drink in the vein of a classic martini combing the oleo sacchrum with white vermouth, vodka and dry curacao which results in a cocktail that is simultaneously rich and refreshing. Brilliant in its simplicity, this is a Lemon Drop that transcends trendy sensibility and has the legs to stick around for a long time to come.