Ingredients
- 1½ ounces vodka
- ¾ ounce strawberry liqueur
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ ounce cranberry juice
- Ice
- Strawberry for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, vodka, strawberry liqueur, lemon juice, and cranberry juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Garnish with strawberry.
Variations and Substitutions
Go ahead and experiment with different versions of the strawberry martini. These can get you started.
- Use vanilla or strawberry vodka instead of plain.
- Add a splash of simple syrup for a sweeter martini. You can even use strawberry simple syrup.
- Extra lemon juice can give your strawberry a brighter, tart flavor. Or use less for a subtle note.
- Tart cherry juice can take the place of cranberry juice.
Garnishes
You shouldn't feel boxed in or limited by a garnish, so go ahead and live your best life by playing around with a few ideas.
- Use a lemon wheel, wedge, or slice to add an extra note of tart citrus.
- Similarly, a lemon ribbon, peel, or twist gives a pop of color with a more subtle note.
- Pierce several strawberry slices on a skewer, spreading them out into a fan.
- An orange wedge, wheel, or slice makes a great garnish. You can also use an orange peel, twist, or ribbon.
About the Strawberry Martini
Fruit martinis get a bad rap; many think of them as too sweet or even just flat-out cloying, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Fruit-flavored martinis are some of the most easily customizable drinks and can even have sour or spicy flavors. Look no further than the classic cosmopolitan or lemon drop martinis with their own endless variations and customization lists.
Fruit martinis first shook onto the scene in the 1930s but wouldn't truly start to peak until the 1990s, partially in thanks to the tv show Sex and the City. From that moment on, fruit martinis, including the strawberry martini, continued to grow in popularity and take center stage during the cocktail resurgence. Adding strawberry flavor is easy these days. With flavored vodka, syrups, cordials, or liqueurs, you can even infuse your own spirits. It's understandable that it's a popular choice.
Strawberry Martini Fields Forever
It doesn't matter if you have a list of fruit martinis that you turn to or if you're new to the martini world, the strawberry martini is well worth giving a try. And if it turns out to be your new favorite, you can have strawberry martinis forever.
