Southside Sips: Lemon Drop Martini

What’s old is new. We see it over and over in the Hamptons, especially during the summer — businesses that get a re-fresh or entirely new owners; styles that come back after decades of dormancy; and, certainly behind the bar.

Last year, you may have noticed the Lemon Drop popping up on menus here and there. This year, you’re likely to see it some more. This citrusy sour was invented in the ’70s by bartender Norman Hobday, owner of Henry Africa in San Francisco. What was remarkable about this bar and its more now-nationally famous cousin, T.G.I. Fridays, is something that might sound kind of crazy today. Bars were dens of very male-centric gathering. Women just… didn’t really frequent them (“unescorted” — can you believe that?) prior to the invention of the fern bar concept. That is, to make women feel more comfortable coming in and grabbing a drink with a friend or even alone after work, bars like Henry Africa and Fridays (the first one of this kind), made their spaces more inviting. Literally, hanging ferns or other plants, putting Tiffany lamps on tables and coming up with drinks that weren’t just beer-and-a-shot territory (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

This was the land that produced the Lemon Drop. By the ’80s and ’90s, it had morphed into a sweet little shooter (that plenty of us threw down our gullets in places like C.P.I. and the Boardy Barn…). And then it just kind of… disappeared.

But the thing is, you can’t keep a good drink at bay. If it’s working liquid parts are solid, it’s always going to re-emerge once memories get a little fuzzier and fonder.

Our friends over at Ketel One Vodka (available at Race Lane Liquors in East Hampton, Hamptons Wine Shoppe in Westhampton Beach or BottleHampton in Southampton) have brought the Lemon Drop back to our attention this week and… you know? We’re kind of excited about it! It’s a great ease-into-easy-weather sipper and, well, everyone loves a comeback.