Ingredients
- 1½ ounces vodka
- ¾ ounce green apple schnapps
- ¾ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ ounce applejack brandy
- Ice
- Apple slice for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, vodka, green apple schnapps, lemon juice, and applejack.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Garnish with apple slice.
Variations and Substitutions
The apple martini has several variations, but each makes a tasty and crisp martini.
- Use apple vodka for a stronger apple taste.
- Add a splash of simple syrup for a sweeter martini.
- Instead of applejack, try an ounce of apple juice.
- Try red apple schnapps for a tart red apple martini.
Garnishes
An apple martini garnish doesn't need to be an apple--you can incorporate different flavors and scents to take it to the next level.
- For an extra pop of green, use a lime wedge.
- If you want a fun garnish, use a lemon or lime peel, twirling it.
- Fan out several apple slices for an extravagant look.
- Consider a long apple peel, making a design and piercing with a cocktail skewer.
About Apple Martinis
First advertised in the summer of 1972 in an issue of Playboy, the recipe for the apple martini has swiftly evolved over the past 50 years. Smirnoff's ad called for an ounce of vodka stirred into a highball glass of apple juice. The appletini as you know it today is hotly contested to have made its first true appearance around 1996 in West Hollywood. Originally called an Adam's Apple Martini, named for the creator, it has since evolved into the apple martini or appletini.
More Than Just a Pretty Face
The appletini is more than just a vibrant-colored cocktail. It's an indulgent martini with exemplary tart yet juicy flavors. The next time you're looking for a cocktail that's a little different from your usual, or you're looking for those familiar sour flavors, shake up the apple martini.
