Happy National Martini Day! While it’s currently cloudy here in Seattle, hopefully we’ll see some sunshine soon enough. In the meantime, have some cocktail inspiration from around the internet!
This Lychee Martini Jello Shot from the Jelly Shot Test Kitchen may not be what you expected, but it’s going to be smooth, work well for parties and groups, and have enough fruit juice involved to convince some that it’s a health food, not a drink. And you can mix and match liquors to your tastes, though the olive should probably not be involved.
For a less sweet variation, try hunting down longan from an asian grocery store. Similar to lychee, fresh longan taste closer to grapes and are slightly easier to peel.
- 1/2 cup white cranberry juice cocktail
- 1 cup lychee or longan juice (from a can of lychees/longan)
- 5 teaspoons powdered gelatin
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 1/2 cup peach schnapps (could also work with a vanilla/light citrus vodka or schnapps)
- chopped lychees, for garnish
Cut into desired shapes if using a loaf pan. Garnish each jelly shot with a few pieces of chopped lychee, if desired.
And if you want something closer to a traditional martini but still crave something sweet, try this Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martini from DrinksMixer:
- 1 oz vanilla vodka
- 2 oz pineapple juice
- dash grenadine syrup
Shake juice and vanilla vodka with ice in a tumbler. Pour into a martini cocktail glass. Add dash of grenadine, and serve.
Or for something a bit more refined with a twist, try this Elderflower Martini with Knockeen Hills Elderflower Gin from PartyCocktails.com:
- 1.5 shots Knockeen Hills gin
- 0.5 shots of Triple Sec
- 1 shot of Apple Juice
- 0.5 shots of Lemon Juice
- 0.25 shots of Elderflower Cordial (Knockeen Hills also makes a Heather gin; mix and match as intrigued)
Add all the ingredients to a tumbler, add ice to fill, and shake thoroughly. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a lemon zest twist.
However you end up celebrating, enjoy!
Featured image by Kevin May. Used under Creative Commons license.
