Debbie’s Lemon Drops

I love lemons. Every way shape and form you can think of.. I love them all. I cook with preserved lemons, I add lemon zest to all kinds of baked products, and last but certainly not least I love them in drinks. Iced tea with lemon, garden mint tea with lemon, lemonade, and my favorite, lemon drops. I do not know where I first ran into this mixed drink but I do remember working diligently to come up with an at home version that would turn out for me every time. Most are made without any mixer but I find the addition of sweet and sour or a good margarita mix makes for a gentler drink and allows the lemon to shine through.  
Never one to waste a lemon’s rind, zest your whole lemons before you juice them putting the rind into a bottle to which you add straight unflavored vodka. This is the start of an amazing limncello, the after dinner drink of Italy. Patience required. The mix has to marinate for 3 months before you finish making the limencello, but.. that is a separate post. Suffice it to say that you take the zest from your lemons before you juice them and thru a funnel, put them into a bottle or jar. Cover them with a vodka.. This does not have to be the expensive stuff. Many recommend Everclear but I use whatever I can get easily and inexpensively. Cover and put the jar in the back of the fridge and .. forget about it. Every time you make lemon drops or anything that does not need the zest.. zest it and add it to the bottle, add a bit more vodka and shake gently. Return to the refrigerator.