Doc Roger’s Lemon Drop Martini

Refreshing lemon juice and a good dose of Cointreau make a new twist in this variation on a theme of what can go into a martini glass. The Lemon Drop Martini, perennially popular and oh-so-potent.

Refreshing, yet deceptively potent, Roger’s Lemon Drop Martini helped us change course when our vacations plans were dealt a wallop by Superstorm Sandy.

• 3/4 shot* good quality vodka
• 1/4 shot Cointreau
• 1/2 shot fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp superfine sugar
• Ice cubes

Pour vodka, Cointreau and lemon juice into cocktail shaker and shake with ice cubes until outside of shaker becomes frosty. Serve in martini glasses with superfine sugar on rim of glass. Garnish with a thin slice of lemon.

WARNING:  More than one of these can be mood-changing, and life-influencing. You never know where it could lead.

*AND UPON FURTHER STUDY:  This recipe sent me to the internet and the Oxford English Dictionary to figure out what exactly Roger meant by a shot. I discovered this bit of information:

• The size of a “shot” can be all over the map, literally. For example, in Albania, a shot is measured at 50 mL. In the United States, we tend to stop pouring at 1.5 fluid ounces, or 44 mL. In Germany, a shot is a measly 20 mL, a fact I find surprising, considering the size of their beer steins. The prize for oddest method of measuring goes to Turkey, where a shot is two fingers. Which is variable, given the thickness of the pourer’s fingers, I suppose.
• A “shot” is interchangeable with a “jigger”, in regard to amount of fluid. You can drink from a shot glass, but it might be difficult to try it from a jigger.
• On the other hand, a jigger is the older of the two, first noted in 1836, where a jigger boss supplied canal workers with a half gill (or noggin) of whiskey sixteen times a day. This portion seems to have worked, keeping the men on the job. Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd Ed. Oxford:  Clarendon Press, 1989. Print.
• Because I obtained this recipe from “Doc Roger”, there is always the possibility I could be mistaken in the meaning of “shot,” which can also mean,
  • g. (a) A hypodermic injection of a narcotic, hallucinogen, or the like, or of a vaccine; a measure of a substance for injection. ibid., p. 339.
• Then again, the intention of the word can be fluid, as in “‘He again sat down by the fire. . by which time he was pretty well ‘shot’”, or to put it mildly, the sipper had had one too many. ibid., p. 341.

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