Today I'm going to share my recipe for a Skinny Lemon Drop Martini. And I have to admit, never have I so enjoyed developing a recipe. I developed the heck out of these cocktails last night.
But let’s start with the basics: What is a lemon drop martini?
A lemon drop martini is a vodka-based cocktail that has a lemony, sweet, and sour flavor. It’s a fruity take on a classic martini. The ingredients are vodka, lemon juice, triple sec, and simple syrup. It is usually prepared and served straight up – chilled with ice and strained.
But simple syrup and triple sec are decidedly un-skinny so here is the workaround for these Cranberry Lemon Drop Cocktails.
We’ll mimic the sweet ingredients using lemon juice, cranberries, and sugar-free erythritol sweetener. It took me a few iterations to find the right balance. Like I said, I did a LOT of taste testing.
And here are the cranberry and lemon rind garnishes I came up with.
I threaded the ingredients onto wooden skewers to give them a nice vertical effect. I went for just visual garnishes, but if you want to make the cranberries edible, then you can roll them in sugar-free sweetener. You can also rim the glass with sweetener if you like.
Now, you are going to need cranberries for this cocktail, so make sure to pick up some extra bags while they are in season around Thanksgiving.
You can keep them in the freezer until you are ready to use them. But, let's say that you missed your window and don't have cranberries. My advice is just to add a few drops of red food coloring. The lemon flavor is so good on its own, that no one will be the wiser.
So whether you are making it, or faking it, this Skinny Lemon Drop Martini is sure to be a hit.
It would make a great signature holiday cocktail or a trusty old stand-by drink. Just remember to label it as alcoholic, because it is so easy to drink, your guests might not know it's got booze in it. Don't be like me with my unmarked Thanksgiving cocktails one year. Everyone remembers when my kid took a big drink and said, "That is NOT fruit punch!". Mom of the Year, right here.
Cheers!
📋 Recipe
Skinny Lemon Drop Martini
These Skinny Lemon Drop Martinis are lovely sugar free holiday cocktails with only 1g carbs per glass.
- Prep Time: 5
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 3 cocktails 1x
- Category: Drink
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Calorie
Ingredients
- 2 cups cold water
- 1 ½ lemons, cut into ¼ inch rounds
- 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
- ¾ cup powdered erythritol or sugar*
- ¾ cup (6 oz) vodka
- 1 cup ice cubes
Instructions
Step 1. Add water, lemon slices, vodka, sweetener and cranberries to a medium-sized bowl.
Step 2. Muddle the fruit until the juices and oils have been released.
Step 3. Add the ice and stir until chilled.
Step 4. Pour the liquid through a sieve into 3 cocktail glasses.
Step 5. For garnishes, you can thread a wooden skewer with cranberries or a mix of a lemon rind and cranberries.
Notes
Nutritional Info is for a skinny cocktail made with a sugar-free sweetener.
The recipe above is for 3 cocktails. If you just want to make one, then use the following amounts:
- ½ cup ice cubes
- ⅔ cup cold water
- ¼ cup powdered sweetener
- ½ cup fresh cranberries
- ½ lemon, cut into ¼ inch rounds
- ¼ cup (2 oz) vodka
Nutrition
- Calories: 132
- Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 1
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: <1
Keywords: Low Carb Lemon Drop Cocktail, Keto Lemon Drop Cocktail, Sugar-Free Lemon Drop Cocktail
If you liked this low carb cocktail, then you might like my recipes for Bloody Marys or Whiskey Sours.
Cindy says
Hi. If I don't have a vitamix, can I use a magic bullet? Leave off the rinds and use the bullet? Thanks.
EmilyKrill says
Hmmm. I’ll be honest-I don’t have high hopes for this method. The important difference between the aer attachment and a regular blender is that it releases the flavor of the fruits without liquefying them. If you use a normal blender and completely liquify the cranberries it’ll make a very sour smoothy. If you just pulse the ingredients a few times in the blender, then run it through a sieve, then it’s not going to have much flavor. So I’m going to guess no, it won’t work. I would love to be proven wrong though, so if you do experiment with your blender, please check back in and let me know!
Jamie says
Hi! This looks so good! I know, I missed the holidays but really, does it matter?! haha. I have a quick question... did you keep the peel on the lemons? It's on in all your pictures so I am tempted to do it but wanted to ask. Thank you!!
EmilyKrill says
I did leave the rinds on. If you are using the Vitamix Aer Disk Container, then it muddles the lemons and leaves behind the rinds. If you don't have one, then you can also muddle the cranberries and lemon slices (with the rinds on) against the side of a glass.
Beverly says
Your photos are just gorgeous. They put me in the mood to decorate for the holidays. Can’t wait to make this beautiful cocktail to celebrate. Thanks for the inspiration.
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
You are most welcome!
Eden | Sweet Tea and Thyme says
Love how perfect this is for the holiday season!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Thanks! That was what I was thinking too. It's nice to have a signature holiday cocktail.
Heidy L. McCallum says
This looks awesome, and I am loving the low carb factor. I really need to watch my carb intake lately. Yumed!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Thanks!
Roxana says
So cool! Did yo uuse granulated or powdered Swerve? Recipe doesn't specify, but you mentioned powdered in the blog comments. Nice work, Emily!
EmilyKrill says
Hey, thanks for catching that! I actually initially used powdered, but then I tried it out with regular granular and it dissolved just as well. So I changed the recipe to regular Swerve. I will change that in the recipe to make it more clear though. Thanks again!
Roxana says
The combination of lemon and cranberries sound awesome and refreshing. It is so easy too.
EmilyKrill says
Thanks. It really is easy if you have a Vitamix Aer.
Colleen says
Lucky you to get a free Vitamix! This cocktail looks delicious, and refreshing, and so perfect for holiday entertaining!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Thanks! (I really did luck out on this one.)