Fresh Raspberry Martini

Name: Fresh Raspberry Martini
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup water; 1 cup white sugar; 1 cup raspberries; 2 ounces raspberry vodka; 2 ounces raspberry purée; 1 ounce Chambord; 1 ounce raspberry simple syrup; ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice; Ice; Additional raspberries (for garnish, optional); Lemon twist (for garnish, optional)

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Make the most of summer days with a fruity cocktail and whip up this fresh raspberry martini! For a quadruple dose of raspberry flavor, this very berry martini features a fresh raspberry purée, raspberry simple syrup, raspberry vodka and Chambord. This sweet cocktail is a raspberry lover's dream. Now grab your cocktail shaker, and let's make this favorite summer sipper.

A fresh raspberry martini on a white marble tray with a bouquet of hot pink flowers behind it and white flowers and raspberries placed around it.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
How to Prepare a Pitcher
Recipe FAQs
Variations and Substitutions
Expert Tips
Perfect Pairing
Sip on More Raspberry Cocktail Recipes
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Bursting with real raspberry flavor: We’re skipping those fake extracts and purées today to make the perfect raspberry martini recipe. A cocktail is only as good as its ingredients, so we’re taking a little time to blend our own raspberry purée and make a homemade raspberry simple syrup. Fresh ingredients make all the difference.

That beautiful color: You’ll look like the ultimate host or hostess when you set down an expertly crafted cocktail with such a stunning presentation. This is one drink that’s made to impress.

Perfect for so many special occasions: While you’ll love this drink for the summer, you’ll get plenty of other uses out of it. This drink makes the perfect signature cocktail for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, bachelorette parties, bridal showers and date nights.

Prepare a pitcher for parties: In case you don’t want to play bartender all night, I have a pitcher option for you, so you can spend your time enjoying company.

Related: If you love a spin on a classic martini, you'll also adore my strawberry-limoncello martini and sparkling pomegranate martini.

Ingredients

Vodka: As mentioned, I recommend raspberry vodka for the fruitest flavor instead of regular vodka. You’re welcome to buy it, or you can make your own infused raspberry vodka.

Raspberry purée: Both fresh and frozen raspberries work here. Just make sure you let the frozen berries thaw first.

Raspberry simple syrup: To make homemade raspberry syrup, we just need raspberries, water and sugar. For a complete guide, you can check out my raspberry simple syrup recipe.

Chambord: For an extra touch of berry flavor, we also use a little Chambord, which is a black raspberry liqueur. I also use this in my raspberry margaritas, and it amps up the flavor.

Fresh lemon juice: Make sure you use freshly squeezed lemon juice, not bottled lemon juice, for the perfect drink. The flavor difference is substantially better with fresh juice.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prepare the Simple Syrup

Step 1: To make the raspberry syrup, we add the berries, white sugar and water to a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it boils and the sugar dissolves, we crush the berries, let the mixture steep and then strain the syrup (photos 1-3).

A collage showing the process of making the raspberry simple syrup for the drink.

Just like that, our homemade syrup is ready for cocktail making.

Shake the Drink

Step 1: We start our drink by adding the raspberry purée, Chambord, raspberry vodka, lemon juice and raspberry simple syrup with a handful of ice cubes to a cocktail shaker (photo 4).

A hand pouring a shot glass of the raspberry purée into a crystal cocktail shaker against a cream-colored wooden surface.

Step 2: For our next step, we seal the cocktail shaker top and give it a vigorous, good shake (photo 5). I find 15-30 seconds works perfectly.

Two hands shaking a crystal cocktail shaker with the drink inside to aerate and mix it.

Step 3: With our drink properly shaken, we strain it into a chilled martini glass (photo 6).

A cocktail shaker straining the drink into a chilled martini glass on a cream-colored wooden surface.

Step 4: Of course, it’d be a shame to let that pretty drink go ungarnished, so we add a few fresh raspberries and a lemon twist on the rim of the glass to make a lovely presentation (photo 7).

A hand placing a metal toothpick with raspberries next to a lemon twist on the rim of a martini glass.

Grab yourself a comfortable seat on the patio, take a sip of that oh-so-fresh raspberry martini and enjoy this nice summer day.

How to Prepare a Pitcher

Now let’s walk you through how to make a pitcher of raspberry martinis for easy entertaining.

Stir together the ingredients in a pitcher for your number of servings, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to a day.
When it’s serving time, stir the contents of the pitcher well.
Pour 6 ½ ounces per drink into a cocktail shaker and shake as originally directed. This amount comes to just over ¾ cup per drink.

We still want to shake the drink to aerate it, especially with the purée, as well as give it the proper dilution. You can find the exact pitcher proportions for eight servings in the notes section of the recipe card. If you need to customize your servings, simply multiply the ounces by the number of desired servings and divide that number by eight to get the cup measurement.

Recipe FAQs

How long will the raspberry syrup stay fresh?

If you keep the syrup in a sterile, airtight container in the refrigerator, it should last for two to three weeks. When the syrup turns cloudy, it’s time for a new batch.

Can you use plain vodka instead of raspberry vodka?

Absolutely, you can substitute the two vodkas. Raspberry vodka will obviously have more fruit flavor, but with the purée, syrup and Chambord, you’ll still have one delicious drink.

Can you swap store-bought raspberry syrup for the homemade raspberry simple syrup?

While you can use a store-bought raspberry syrup, I highly recommend using a real fruit syrup for best results. But it works if you don’t have enough time to make your own syrup. The substitution quantities are equal.

How do you make homemade raspberry purée?

It’s as simple as it gets. Grab your blender and add the raspberries along with a little water and blend until smooth. For a thinner purée, feel free to add a little more water.

Can you make this into a nonalcoholic martini?

Sure, you can use a nonalcoholic spirit or a little juice in the vodka's place and skip the Chambord to make a mocktail. For a raspberry drink, my preferred juice substitutions are raspberry lemonade, orange juice, pomegranate juice or raspberry-cranberry juice.

Looking straight on to the raspberry martini on a white marble tray with white flowers and fresh raspberries around it.

Variations and Substitutions

Try a different fruit purée: Just like in my peach martini and passion fruit martini, you can absolutely experiment with different purées, such as strawberry, blackberry or blueberry. Even a combination of fruit purées works.

Swap the vodka for gin: Vodka has a cleaner, more neutral flavor, but gin is great if you’d like more botanical notes.

Add some bitters for added complexity: Orange bitters are great, but feel free to experiment with your favorite variety. You only need two or three drops.

Give it a bubbly finish: A little splash of club soda or even sparkling wine if you’re extra fancy adds a level of sophistication.

Substitute a different syrup: The raspberry syrup is great for adding even more fruity flavor, but you can also use other infusions for fun spins, such as my ginger simple syrup.

Play around with another liqueur: If you don't have Chambord, triple sec will add some nice orange citrus notes.

Expert Tips

Use chilled martini glasses: The easiest method is to place your glass in the freezer for 15-30 minutes before serving. However, if you forget to plan ahead, simply fill your serving glass with ice water and allow the glass to sit as you whip up the martini. Before straining, stir the ice water for 30 seconds and then dump the ice and water into the sink for a nicely chilled cocktail glass.

Get the most out of your lemons: Pick lemons with some give when you press into them. Before juicing, firmly roll the lemons on the countertop a few times and use a handheld citrus juicer.

Remove the seeds after blending if desired: This is absolutely optional, but if you’re not a fan of seeds, you can always run the purée through a fine-mesh sieve after blending. Keep in mind, the purée might have trouble passing through the sieve if it’s too thick, but you can always add it back to the blender with a bit more water.

Perfect Pairing

For a starter, this lemony ricotta dip is a tasty partner. The tart raspberries help cut through the creamy ricotta, and you’ll love how the fruit plays with the dip’s fresh herbs.

When you’re ready for your main course, salmon is a great option for just about any raspberry cocktail. Try it with my blood orange salmon, salmon tacos or smoked salmon risotto.

And, of course, it's also a great dessert drink. You won’t find a more perfect pairing than my raspberry mojito mini pies.

Oh, and if you love an adult brunch, you can’t go wrong with a raspberry vodka martini on the side of a stack of raspberry pancakes. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy a weekend brunch.

When you need a fruity, refreshing cocktail, you'll fall in love with this raspberry martini after your first sip. Don't let the summer pass you by without shaking up this beautiful drink.

Cheers!

Looking down on a raspberry martini on a marble tray on top of a cream-colored wooden surface with flowers and raspberries scattered around it.

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Comments

5 from 134 votes (129 ratings without comment)