Lemon Vodka Recipe and Suggestions

Lemon vodka has a strong, bright flavor that perks up mixed drinks and can work very well in lemon cake, as a frosting ingredient, or even added to tea. It makes a radically delicious lemonade, too.

One really nice thing about this recipe is that you can use any citrus fruit as a base. If you prefer making lime vodka to use in your Tex-Mex marinades, or orange vodka to add a little bite to your fruit salad, I've listed the substitutions below. Flavored vodka makes an interesting ingredient in cooking. It's a nice homemade hostess gift, too.

Lemon Vodka Recipe

Half of a 1.75 liter bottle of vodka (59.2 fluid ounces)

1 cup white granulated sugar

The zest of 5 lemons (or four medium sized oranges, or six limes)


Directions for Lemon Vodka

Combine the ingredients in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid.

Shake well to dissolve the sugar.

Set aside for four weeks in a room temperature cupboard.

Drizzle the seasoned mixture through a large coffee-filter lined funnel to remove the zest.

Special Notes:

For this recipe, I like to choose organic fruits because I'm not sure how much pesticide is typically used on citrus. Employ your best judgment.

For presentation, it's nice to peel and curl narrow strips of zest to include in the bottle.

If I have lemon balm, I like to add a sprig to the mix. It gives the vodka an elegant aroma -- well, it seems that way to me, anyway.