Lychee Martini

Name: Lychee Martini
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 45 Ml SKYY vodka; 45 Ml lychee liqueur or lychee syrup; A dash of freshly squeezed lime juice per cocktail; To garnish, a pitted lychee or two per cocktail; Ice

Rating: 5.00/5. From 1 vote.

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PREP TIME 5 min

Cocktail Type

Martini

Great for

Weekends

Difficulty

Medium

JUMP TO RECIPE

Every now and again you need the sweet taste of the tropics in your life, even when it happens to be bucketing down with rain – this is when we love to pour a Lychee Martini. Also affectionately referred to as a lycheetini, this fruity vodka-based cocktail is refreshing and delicious with a teasing tartness that walks the fine line between sweet and sour.

How to make a Lychee Martini

The Lychee Martini recipe is a choose-your-own-adventure type of deal, in that you can choose how involved you want to get. This is because one of the key lychee martini ingredients, lychee liqueur, is something that can be quite tricky to find at the supermarket (much like the fruit itself), so it’s best to make it yourself.

As such, we are giving you the choice of using a lychee syrup (quick-quick), a cheat’s lychee liqueur (also quick), or a full-on lychee liqueur (takes a while). Before we get into all that, here’s the recipe. Find the full low-down on the syrup and liqueur a few scrolls down.

QUICK TIPS

For an even fruiter serve try SKYY Infusions® Pineapple Vodka

Freeze left-over lime juice in cubes to use for future Lychee Martinis

Pairs beautifully with spicy dishes like Asian seafood curries

INGREDIENTS

MAKE FOR

1 Person

45 Ml

1.5 Oz

1.5 Parts

SKYY vodka

45 Ml

1.5 Oz

1.5 Parts

lychee liqueur or lychee syrup

A dash of freshly squeezed lime juice per cocktail

To garnish, a pitted lychee or two per cocktail

Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Add the vodka, lychee liqueur (or syrup), and lime juice to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well

Strain into a chilled Martini or coupe glass

Garnish with a pitted lychee fruit or two on a cocktail garnish pin

How to make your own lychee liqueur or syrup at home

Righto, let’s get down to the somewhat finicky part of making this Martini. Don’t be disheartened, dear cocktail maker – it seems like it’s going to be a big mission, and yes, a few utensils will be dirtied in the process, but it will be 100% worth it when you pour a gorgeous Lychee Martini cocktail, we promise. Here goes.

Option 1: Lychee syrup (>1h)

To make a lychee syrup you will need 200g of sugar, 250ml water and a few (approximately 5) peeled and pitted lychees. You can use fresh or tinned.

Add the sugar and water to a saucepan and bring it to a slow boil over heat, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Now add the lychees, reduce the heat and cover the saucepan, allowing it to simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let it cool for 30 minutes. Strain the fruit from the syrup and decant it into a bottle with a tight lid.
This is now ready to use and will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Option 2: Cheat’s lychee liqueur (1-2h)

To make the cheat’s lychee liqueur, you will first need to make the syrup from option 1 and then combine 250ml of the syrup with 350ml of high-quality vodka. That’s it. If you want to get experimental, try a SKYY Infusions® Pineapple Vodka or Watermelon Vodka for some extra tropical flair!

Option 3: Real deal lychee liqueur (4 weeks)

Righto, here’s the real deal liqueur recipe. You will need around 16 to 20 peeled and pitted lychees (tinned is fine), the zest of one lime, and 500ml of vodka.

Add the ingredients to a glass jar with a capacity of at least 500ml, seal the jar and give it a good shake.
Store it in a cool, dark place for 4 weeks, shaking it now and again.
After 4 weeks, strain the fruit from the vodka using cheesecloth or a super clean kitchen towel. Really get all of the juice out of there.
Then strain it again, directly into your storage bottle, using a funnel with the cloth inside.
Add one cup of sugar syrup to the bottle, tighten the lid and give it a good shake.
Store the bottle in the fridge after use, where it will stay good to use for up to three months.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A Lychee Martini combines vodka, lychee liqueur, and freshly squeezed lime juice, which is shaken in a cocktail shaker with ice and strained into a chilled Martini or coupe glass.

Also affectionately referred to as a lycheetini, the fruity vodka-based Lychee Martini is refreshing and delicious with a teasing tartness that walks the fine line between sweet and sour.

Lychees as a fruit have an interesting sour bite and taste a bit like a strawberry crossed with a slice of watermelon and some grapes. Their sweetness and tartness make a nice contrast to the sweetness of a liqueur.