French Martini

Rating: 5.00/5. From 1 vote.

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PREP TIME 5 min

Cocktail Type

Martini

Great for

Birthday Party

Difficulty

Medium

JUMP TO RECIPE

Meet the French Martini—this vodka cocktail is sweet, smooth, sophisticated, and perfect for impressing at your next get-together. Easy to drink and finished with a creamy foam top for an extra indulgent serve, this oh-so-suave cocktail is so fruity it’s like a dessert in a glass.

Plus, our step-by-step French Martini recipe is so easy to follow at home it’s guaranteed to fill you with joie de vivre.

QUICK TIPS

For an extra creamy taste, try this recipe with a vanilla-flavoured vodka

Goes beautifully with some mature brie and a fresh baguette

Try cranberry juice instead of pineapple for a drier finish

INGREDIENTS

Classic illustration of a French Martini

MAKE FOR

1 Person

60 Ml

2 Oz

2 Parts

SKYY Vodka

15 Ml

0.5 Oz

0.5 Parts

Raspberry liqueur

30 Ml

1 Oz

1 Parts

Pineapple juice

Fresh raspberries to garnish

Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Add the vodka, pineapple juice, and raspberry liqueur to a cocktail shaker

Fill it with ice and shake vigorously until cold (this creates the best foamy finish)

Strain into a martini glass

If you like, use a fresh raspberry as your French Martini garnish. C’est magnifique!

What’s in a French Martini?

The French Martini was given its name as a nod to one of its original ingredients, a black raspberry liqueur from the French Loire Valley which gives the French Martini its distinctive pink colour. Add pineapple juice and vodka, and the French Martini is definitely for those with a sweet tooth.

If you really want to dial up the French-ness, you can also choose a French vodka (and don a beret, naturellement)

How to achieve a silky foam top?

Achieving the silky smooth foamy crown is easy when you shake high-protein fruit like pineapple vigorously over ice. This adds a delicious creamy mouthfeel that French Martini lovers come back for.

Pro tips for making a French Martini?

If you opt for fresh pineapple juice you will ensure a gorgeous crown along with an extra sweet tangy flavour. If you don’t have a juicer, no problemo. Just add chunks to your blender and whizz until smooth and pass it through a strainer or sieve
Use the largest pieces of ice you can find, and frozen solid to create the best froth on your pineapple juice. Small pieces will dilute your cocktail too much and melt the foam crown.
Garnish with a thin wedge of pineapple (skin on works too) or a few delicate fronds of pineapple and a plump rip raspberry

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The French Martini is traditionally considered a pre-dinner drink, but this sweet easy-to-drink cocktail pairs well with whatever you’re celebrating. French Martinis also make the best wedding cocktails—the fresh raspberry garnish and white foam top make it a truly sophisticated and romantic toast for your wedding reception. Of course, French cocktails also go very well with France-themed occasions and celebrations, like Bastille Day.

Short answer? The original addition of French black raspberry liqueur heralded the cocktail’s connection with France. The liqueur recipe goes back to the 1600s and legend has it that King Louis XIV was mesmerized by a bottle of liqueur he received during an annual visit to the Loire Valley region. A cocktail with the royal seal of approval? Sign us up!

We’d love to believe that the bartender was trying to make a fancy-sounding martini that stood out in the 1980s New York City bar scene, but history suggests this cocktail gets its namesake due to the inclusion of black raspberry liqueur from the Loire Valley in France.

Spoiler, it's actually NOT from France! There were so many different types of martinis to choose from that, in the 1980s, there was a widespread ‘cocktail renaissance’. Bartenders tried to differentiate their creations by opting fun, catchy names and surprising twists. This is how the French Martini came to be, first appearing on the menu at one of Keith McNally's New York City bars in the 1980s.

While they both include famous French ingredients, the French Martini and a French 75 are not the same thing. The French 75 is a different cocktail altogether and is sometimes called a Champagne Martini. It features gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and bubbly Champagne as ingredients.