Ketel One Lemon Drop Martini

Ketel One's Lemon Drop Martini comes as a ready-to-drink canned cocktail, made in Massachusetts. It is built around the lemon drop, a drink with a sweet-tart lemon profile and a vodka base. The details supplied for this can don't include an ABV, a tasting-note sheet or a stated serving size, so check the label for those. What follows is what you can expect from the style. Lemon drops depend on balancing citrus acidity against sugar. Expect a bright, tart lemon up front, a rounded sweetness behind it, and a clean vodka backbone that keeps the drink from tasting like lemonade. Canned versions usually run a little softer and sweeter than a freshly shaken one, because the balance has to hold steady through shelf life and a trip to the cooler. Everything is already in the can, so there's no juicing, shaking or measuring and no sugar-rimmed glass to prepare. Serve it well chilled, and refrigerate it for several hours or put it in an ice bath for a few minutes before opening. Drinking it straight from the can works fine. For a more polished serve, pour it over ice in a rocks glass, or into a chilled coupe or martini glass with no ice. A thin lemon twist is a reasonable garnish, and a sugared rim suits the style if you want one. Because the drink is sweet and tart, ice dilutes it quickly. Pour it only when you're ready to drink, and use large cubes if you have them. The lemon-forward flavor suits light, salty or fried food. Think shrimp, fish tacos, calamari, goat cheese or a simple chicken dish with herbs. It also holds up beside a fruit-based dessert such as lemon bars or berry tarts, and the tartness cuts through creamy or buttery dishes. The can format makes it easy to take to a patio or picnic, a cooler on a boat, a dinner party where you'd rather not spend the evening mixing, or a gathering where guests want a martini-style drink without a bar setup.