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Raspberry Martini

This raspberry martini is a vibrant red cocktail full of berry flavor! Treat yourself with this beautiful sweet drink. Here’s a sweet cocktail with a vibrant color: the Raspberry Martini! This drink is stunning and full of bright berry flavor: from first sip, you’ll be sold! The sweet tart, lightly floral flavor of raspberry is beautifully pure, thanks to homemade raspberry syrup. This cocktail is perfect for a romantic dinner, girls night, Valentine’s Day, or really any occasion that needs a red drink. It’s on the sweeter side, but the zing of fresh lemon balances it perfectly. A few more sweet cocktails? Try the Chocolate Martini or Classic Mudslide. What’s in a raspberry martini? The raspberry martini is one in a long list of flavored vodka martinis. This family of drinks has almost nothing in common with the Classic Martini…except the glass! The classic martini stars ultra-dry gin and vermouth, and has a bitter burn on the finish. Vodka martinis became popular in the 1990’s, and they’re every flavor of sweet and fruity: think cucumber, watermelon, or chocolate. Some vodka martinis have official definitions set by the International Bartender’s Association, like the lemon drop martini and espresso martini. All other […]

A Couple Cooks – Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

This raspberry martini is a vibrant red cocktail full of berry flavor! Treat yourself with this beautiful sweet drink.

Here’s a sweet cocktail with a vibrant color: the Raspberry Martini! This drink is stunning and full of bright berry flavor: from first sip, you’ll be sold! The sweet tart, lightly floral flavor of raspberry is beautifully pure, thanks to homemade raspberry syrup. This cocktail is perfect for a romantic dinner, girls night, Valentine’s Day, or really any occasion that needs a red drink. It’s on the sweeter side, but the zing of fresh lemon balances it perfectly.

A few more sweet cocktails? Try the Chocolate Martini or Classic Mudslide.

What’s in a raspberry martini?

The raspberry martini is one in a long list of flavored vodka martinis. This family of drinks has almost nothing in common with the Classic Martini…except the glass! The classic martini stars ultra-dry gin and vermouth, and has a bitter burn on the finish. Vodka martinis became popular in the 1990’s, and they’re every flavor of sweet and fruity: think cucumber, watermelon, or chocolate.

Some vodka martinis have official definitions set by the International Bartender’s Association, like the lemon drop martini and espresso martini. All other vodka martini recipes are up to the mixologist, so the ingredients vary. Here’s what’s in our spin on a raspberry martini cocktail:

Vodka
Cranberry juice (not sweetened*)
Lemon juice
Raspberry syrup (homemade is best, or use purchased)

It’s best with homemade raspberry syrup!

This raspberry martini cocktail gets its beautifully sweet flavor from raspberry syrup! We highly recommend making the fresh syrup because it has the best, pure berry flavor. Note that you’ll need to make it in advance: but it only takes 10 minutes of hands on time. Mix up a batch and have it ready to go for shaking up the drink. Here are the basic steps:

Melt sugar: Place 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook about 1 minute until the sugar dissolves.
Add berries and simmer: Add 1/2 cup fresh raspberries and cook until the berries break down, about 5 to 6 minutes, turning the heat to low when it starts to boil. Break down the berries with a spatula as needed. Once fully liquid, strain into a jar using a fine mesh sieve and a spatula.
Cool: Allow to cool, then store refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

More uses for raspberry syrup? Make a Clover Club, or serve it over pancakes or mug cake.

Use purchased raspberry syrup in a pinch

Don’t have time to make raspberry syrup? You can find it at your local liquor store, or online. It’s best with this homemade syrup, but store-bought works in a pinch.

Find unsweetened cranberry juice

The only other thing to note about ingredients: this raspberry cocktail recipe uses 100% unsweetened cranberry juice. It’s easy to find at your local grocery these days, but be careful when you’re picking it out from the shelf. There are several different types of cranberry juice you’ll see:

Sweetened cranberry juice or cranberry juice cocktail has added sugars and sometimes high-fructose corn syrup as sweetener. We prefer…
100% cranberry juice is preferred here! The benefits of this type? The color is brighter and you can sweeten your drink to taste.

What if all you can find is sweetened cranberry juice? Easy. Just use only 1/2 ounce of the raspberry syrup instead of 3/4 ounce. Then you can adjust the flavors by adding more raspberry syrup to taste.

How to make a raspberry martini: basic steps

Got all your ingredients? Let’s make this raspberry cocktail! Here are the basic steps (or jump to the recipe):

Shake: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Add 2 handfuls ice and shake until cold. Don’t have a cocktail shaker? Use a mason jar with top.
Strain: Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a few more fresh raspberries to be fancy.

More red cocktails!

This raspberry martini is a stunning naturally red cocktail: and there are lots more where that comes from! Cranberry, pomegranate, strawberry, and blood orange also make for brilliantly bright red drinks. Here are a few more favorites:

Try a Blood Orange Margarita, Italian Margarita or Cranberry Margarita
Go bubbly with a Cranberry Mimosa, Pomegranate Mimosa or Kir Royale
Opt for modern classics like the Jungle Bird or Paper Plane
Try a bright red Strawberry Margarita or Strawberry Daiquiri
Go the red wine route with Red Sangria

When to serve a raspberry martini

The raspberry martini recipe works as a signature drink, perfect for special occasions. Serve it as a:

Happy hour drink
Dessert cocktail
Valentine’s Day or romantic dinner cocktail
Girls or guys night drink
Cocktail hour drink

Raspberry Martini

(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

5 from 5 reviews

Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 drink
Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

This raspberry martini is a vibrant red cocktail full of berry flavor! Treat yourself with this beautiful sweet drink.

Ingredients

2 ounces vodka
1 ounce* 100% cranberry juice (not sweetened**)
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce raspberry syrup (homemade is best, or use purchased)
For the garnish: fresh raspberries

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake 15 seconds until cold.
Strain the drink into a cocktail or martini glass. Garnish with raspberries and serve.

Notes

*1 ounce = 2 tablespoons

**If all you can find is sweetened cranberry juice or cranberry juice cocktail, use 1/2 ounce raspberry syrup, then add more to taste.

Category: Drink
Method: Shaken
Cuisine: Cocktails

Keywords: Raspberry martini

A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

Dessert Tonight: Sugared Berries With Caraway Cream

A Big Little Recipe has the smallest-possible ingredient list and big everything else—flavor, creativity, wow factor. Psst: We don’t count water, salt, black pepper, and certain fats (specifically, 1/2 cup or less of olive oil, vegetable oil, and butte…

A Big Little Recipe has the smallest-possible ingredient list and big everything else—flavor, creativity, wow factor. Psst: We don't count water, salt, black pepper, and certain fats (specifically, 1/2 cup or less of olive oil, vegetable oil, and butter), since we're guessing you have those covered. Today, we’re celebrating summer berries.

There’s no shortage of ways to revel in summer berries—jam, jam bars, shortcake, not-so-short cake, I could go on—and yet, on the sunniest, swampiest of August afternoons, I gravitate toward whatever requires the least amount of thought.

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

These lemon blueberry pancakes are light and fluffy, with just the right citrus zing and sweet bursts of berries! Serve with blueberry compote. Here’s a breakfast that’s the best way to make Saturday morning even more special: lemon blueberry pancakes! These are quite the treat: tender and fluffy, with just the right citrus zing! Each bite has a sweet pop of purple blueberry. Top it off with tangy sweet blueberry compote and it’s all you can do not to scream Wow! on your first bite (we did). This recipe was inspired by a haul of blueberries we picked in Michigan, and it’s every bit as good as it looks. You can also use frozen berries if you don’t have a fresh stash. Here’s what to do! Ingredients for the best lemon blueberry pancakes This lemon blueberry pancakes recipe is based on our fluffy Greek yogurt pancakes. Because who needs buttermilk! We always have Greek yogurt in the refrigerator, so prefer using that to buttermilk. Greek yogurt pancakes get just as tangy and creamy! There’s enough lemon to peak through with a tangy citrus zing. Here’s what you’ll need for these pancakes: All purpose flour: you can also use half and […]

A Couple Cooks – Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

These lemon blueberry pancakes are light and fluffy, with just the right citrus zing and sweet bursts of berries! Serve with blueberry compote.

Here’s a breakfast that’s the best way to make Saturday morning even more special: lemon blueberry pancakes! These are quite the treat: tender and fluffy, with just the right citrus zing! Each bite has a sweet pop of purple blueberry. Top it off with tangy sweet blueberry compote and it’s all you can do not to scream Wow! on your first bite (we did). This recipe was inspired by a haul of blueberries we picked in Michigan, and it’s every bit as good as it looks. You can also use frozen berries if you don’t have a fresh stash. Here’s what to do!

Ingredients for the best lemon blueberry pancakes

This lemon blueberry pancakes recipe is based on our fluffy Greek yogurt pancakes. Because who needs buttermilk! We always have Greek yogurt in the refrigerator, so prefer using that to buttermilk. Greek yogurt pancakes get just as tangy and creamy! There’s enough lemon to peak through with a tangy citrus zing. Here’s what you’ll need for these pancakes:

All purpose flour: you can also use half and half all purpose and whole wheat flour: you may need a splash of extra milk
Baking powder, sugar and salt
Egg
Milk
Greek yogurt
Lemon juice and zest
Neutral oil like grapeseed, organic canola oil, or organic vegetable oil
Blueberries: fresh or frozen

How to add berries to pancakes: the secret!

Here’s the biggest mistake people make with blueberry pancakes: they add the blueberries to the pancake batter. What’s wrong with that? Well, there’s a better way to add berries to pancakes. How should you add berries to pancakes?

Pour the batter onto the griddle, then place the blueberries on top of each pancake. Why?
This makes for even blueberry distribution! Place the berries in the batter itself and it makes lumpy pancakes and uneven distribution. You’ll thank us later.

Use fresh or frozen berries: you don’t even need to thaw

Got loads of fresh blueberries for these lemon blueberry pancakes? Perfect! Fresh berries are our favorite for adding to blueberry pancakes. But guess what? Frozen are just as good!

Here’s a question: do you need to thaw frozen blueberries for pancakes? Good news: no! There’s no need to thaw frozen berries because they defrost as part of the cooking process. Defrosting blueberries can be a messy business, and once they’re thawed they can make purple streaks in baked goods and pancakes. So just pop them in frozen: it works like a charm!

Variations on lemon blueberry pancakes

Want a vegan variation on these lemon blueberry pancakes recipe? Here’s what to do to make it plant-based:

Substitute almond milk for the milk AND Greek yogurt. Use 1 cup almond milk total, then add a few more splashes to get to a pourable consistency.
Use a flax egg for the egg. A flax egg is simply flax seed plus water, combined to form a gel that’s used in vegan baking. It acts as a binder just like a real egg.

Or, go to Vegan Blueberry Pancakes and add 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 teaspoons lemon zest.

Topping ideas for lemon blueberry pancakes

These lemon blueberry pancakes are stunners! Of all of our pancake recipes, they’re one of our favorites because they’re so unique and fresh. Step them up by topping them with even more incredible flavors. Here are some of our favorite topping ideas:

Maple syrup: The easiest basic topping is maple syrup: and it’s oh so good.
Compote (highly recommended!): This Blueberry Compote we made to go especially with these pancakes! It’s lightly sweetened with maple syrup and full of berry flavor.
Sauce: Or try this Blueberry Sauce: it’s even sweeter and thicker!
Nut butter: Nut butter is great for pancakes because it makes a filling breakfast by adding a hit of plant-based protein. Try Almond Butter, Cashew Butter, Peanut Butter
Toasted nuts: These add a great crunch! Try Toasted Almonds, Toasted Pecans or Toasted Walnuts.
Whipped cream: If you like a decadent pancake, top with Homemade Whipped Cream.
Sweetened Greek yogurt: For a healthier spin, mix a little maple syrup with Greek yogurt for a creamy topping.

This lemon blueberry pancakes recipe is…

Vegetarian. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, see the notes in the section above. For a gluten free pancake, go to Gluten Free Pancakes.