Lemon Meringue Martini (With Gin and Limoncello)

Lemon Meringue Cocktail – glossy sweet meringue crowns lend sophistication to a tangy and feisty lemon dessert martini. Fresh lemon juice, gin, and limoncello fuse for a lively taste sensation. 

Take a citrus-forward gin, add a classic Italian Limoncello, pair that with a creamy smooth meringue float, garnished with an edible flower, and you’ve got yourself one heck of a lemon meringue cocktail!

Looking for more martini cocktails? Give our Espresso Martini, Lemon Drop Martini, and Bailey’s Martini a try.

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Why We Love This Lemon Meringue Martini Recipe

Not just love, I mean Wow at first sight! Lively, sophisticated, and elegant, the first sip of a lemon meringue martini is a double Wow! 

• Complex spirited notes of lemon and citrus
• Full silky mouth texture
• Impressive and beautiful presentation
• Charming edible flowers take this lemon meringue cocktail to the next level 

Ingredients For Your Lemon Meringue Cocktail

You can definitely use a London Dry Gin and still have an energetic and delicious dessert cocktail. However, if you select a New Western Style Gin for this lemon meringue drink, you will get more depth and complexity. 

The Meringue Topping

• Egg White – Pasteurized eggs are best since they are not being cooked for this gin and limoncello dessert cocktail.
• Granulated Sugar – is whipped into the egg white for a thicker, glossy white foam that is more stable and can stand longer without losing its volume and elasticity.
• Edible Flowers – to garnish and add that special pizazz!

The Gin And Limoncello Cocktail

• Gin – I recommend using a citrus-forward gin.
• Limoncello – is a glorious tart, sweet, and lemon-infused Italian liqueur. Did you know you can make homemade limoncello?
• Lemon Juice – fresh is always best, but after just one of these lemon meringue drinks, you won’t know the difference!
• Ice – you need 1” cubed ice for the best aeration and minimum dilution to chill a lemon meringue drink thoroughly.

How To Make A Lemon Meringue Martini 

(full printable recipe at the end of this post)

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Grab a whisk and a bowl for the lemon meringue cocktail float. A double jigger, cocktail shaker and strainer, and two stemmed or coupe glasses for the lemon meringue drink.

1. Make the meringue topping by whisking the egg white and sugar until the mixture is bright white, smooth, and glossy; then set aside.
2. Fill a cocktail shaker with mixing ice (large ice cube size), and add the gin and limoncello cocktail ingredients. Shake that baby vigorously until the shaker feels very cold, about 15-20 seconds.
3. Strain the lemon meringue martini into coupe glasses and, using a spoon, add the meringue mixture on top of the meringue drink and garnish. 

Lemon Meringue Cocktail Recipe Notes

Meringue drinks usually contain raw egg whites. The USDA does require pasteurization for all egg products to kill off food-borne illnesses.  Still concerned? Boxed/carton liquid egg whites are hit twice with pasteurization, so the egg white is considered safe to eat or drink. 

No worries if you aren’t on board with consuming a raw egg! You can use aquafaba liquid (chickpea) to create a foamy meringue. See the Lemon Meringue Martini FAQs section for more info.

If your “wild” still refuses to come out and play, skip the meringue topping altogether. Or, fake it with a bit of whipped cream; after all, it is a dessert cocktail! (I promise not to tell) 

A lemon meringue cocktail doesn’t require a super-stiff meringue mixture. As long as the egg white and sugar foam appear white and glossy, it will float angelically atop this dynamic lemon meringue martini. 

We used edible violas to garnish this meringue drink with gin and limoncello; double-check edible flowers before using them.  

Edible Flowers For Cocktail Garnish

You can grow violas in your garden along with quite a few other varieties of edible flowers. They are super easy to grow and very easy to look after.

If you don’t want to grow them from seed you can usually find them at the local nursery, farmers’ market, garden center, and sometimes the larger stores that sell garden items such as compost. They are in season in the spring and cheap to buy. They are happiest in smaller pots as opposed to being planted in the ground.

All types of viola/pansy are edible.

NOTE: When sourcing flowers for garnishes, make sure they are pesticide-free or food grade.

Lemon Meringue Martini FAQs

With few exceptions, cocktails like lemon meringue martinis should be made on-demand, and be prepared for the demand!

What is a coupe glass?

A coupe (küp) is broad, bowl-shaped stemware historically used for champagne and sparkling wine. Quaffers realized the shallow, wide surface area caused the champagne to go flat and lifeless quickly. 

Thanks to a new breed of mixologists, a coupe glass is used for shaken or stirred strained cocktails, like this lemon meringue cocktail.  

Does ice cube size matter?  

Heck yeah! Ice cube size does matter when you want an icy cold cocktail and very little liquor dilution like in a lemon meringue martini! Due to less overall surface area, larger ice cube size melts more slowly, so your elegantly crafted dessert cocktail gets cold without getting watered down. 

A good rule of thumb is a 1-1.25” ice cube size will perfectly chill and aerate a meringue drink in 15-20 seconds.

What do egg whites do in a drink?

Egg white meringue adds a silky foam texture and enriches the mouthfeel of a meringue drink. 

What is aquafaba?

Aquafaba is an egg-free (vegan) substitute that mimics an egg white foam/meringue when aerated by whipping. A white bean liquid, like garbanzo or cannellini, will give you a whiter meringue with an almost indiscernible taste, especially when mixed with other ingredients. 

For one large egg white, substitute two tbs of aquafaba. Try it! You might like it when you need an egg white, and all you have is a can of beans on hand!

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