I Had Cocktails With Martha Stewart—and She Shared Her All-Time Favorite Recipe

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that Martha Stewart is the queen of entertaining—she’s been making people feel at home with her recipes since her catering days in the ‘70s. But when I went to her new Las Vegas restaurant, The Bedford by Martha Stewart, to chat with the icon, I never thought she’d be the one making cocktails. 

The Bedford was designed by Stewart herself and is modeled after her farmhouse home in Bedford, New York. Everything down to the hanging copper pans and fake windows that show real photos of the view from her Bedford windows is meant to feel like Martha Stewart is inviting you over for lunch—for me, she actually was.

While sitting in the Brown Dining Room, an exact replica of Stewart’s at-home dining room, Stewart pulled up next to me for a tableside cocktail. The recipe? One of her favorite drinks, the Meyer Lemon Drop.

In true Martha Stewart hostess fashion she walked us through the entire recipe while she was making it—sprinkling in some genius tips along the way.

First, as you would imagine, Stewart uses only the finest, freshest ingredients in her cocktails. So, the lemon simple syrup is made with real Meyer lemons and the lemon juice is freshly squeezed for each cocktail.

She also prefers Polish vodka in her cocktails, because she’s Polish—so her lemon drop calls for Belvedere Vodka and Cointreau. 

Stewart made it clear that the shaker needs to be filled with crushed ice so that the cocktail will have little ice shards that keep it extra cold. Or, you can do it like Martha Stewart and add an ice ball at the end. 

“I like ice in my drinks because if I’m going to drink, it’s one drink and I keep adding ice to it during dinner. I only drink one drink and I keep diluting it with ice,” she said.

How To Make Martha Stewart’s Meyer Lemon Drop

The Bedford’s cocktail menu does feature a Meyer Lemon Drop, with Tito’s vodka, Meyer lemon juice, and a sugar rim, but Stewart went a little off-menu to make this one by adding a few more ingredients. So, if you’re ever at the Paris Las Vegas, you can have this cocktail too, or you can simply make it at home with this recipe.

I know I’ll be making it next time I entertain—but just a fair warning, Martha Stewart has a pretty heavy hand, so this cocktail is quite strong.

Martha's Meyer Lemon Drop

Yields 2 cocktails

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces vodka
• 1 ½ ounces orange-flavored liqueur
• 3 ounces Meyer lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 ½ ounces Meyer lemon simple syrup
• Lemon peel, for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Make your Meyer lemon simple syrup by combining the rind and pulp from the squeezed lemons with equal parts water and sugar over low heat on the stove. Stir until thickened, then allow to cool.
2. Rim the glasses with simple syrup and sugar and allow to harden.
3. In a cocktail shaker filled with crushed ice, combine vodka, orange-flavored liqueur, Meyer lemon juice, and Meyer lemon simple syrup. Shake for exactly 60 shakes—and, a little Martha Stewart tip, be sure to put a dish towel over the top of the shaker in case the lid pops off, you won’t spill everywhere.
4. Strain into sugar-rimmed glasses and garnish with a lemon peel, if desired.