The French Martini is a fun sleeper cocktail. If you quickly glance at the ingredients, it first appears it’s going to be very sweet. Although Chambord is a sweet black raspberry liqueur, when combined with pineapple juice and vodka, it balances out the tropical sweetness of the pineapple juice and adds body to the drink.
If you’re looking for a cocktail that hints at tropical without going full TIKI, this is a great cocktail to start with! Fresh pineapple juice works the best, but it will work if canned or bottled juice is your option.
Since (for some odd reason) pineapple juice comes in a massive can that can’t be resealed, an easy and fun hack is to freeze the leftover pineapple juice in ice cube trays. (Check out the Pro tips for uses of those frozen pineapple ice cubes!)
French Martini
Prep Time: 5 min
Makes: 1 serving
Ingredients
- 2 OZ VODKA
- 1 OZ CHAMBORD
- 2 OZ PINEAPPLE JUICE
Directions
Pro Tips
- The ratio of 2 parts vodka and pineapple juice to 1 part Chambord makes this recipe super easy to scale up and down. I happen to have HUGE martini glasses, and the 2oz/1oz measurements fill the glass perfectly. If your martini glasses are smaller (or if you’re looking to be able to walk after having one), reduce down to 1.5 oz each of vodka and pineapple juice, and ¾ oz Chambord makes a perfect 4 oz drink.
- Some pineapple juice is sweeter than others, so taste it before you make the cocktail! If it’s super sweet, you can always reduce the amount or add a little bit of lemon juice to the cocktail to balance out the sweetness if you feel you need it.
- My favorite variation on this cocktail was developed by Simon Difford, as the *Very* French Martini. Prepare it in the same way as above; it’s a great, lower ABV version of this drink, with some great depth from the cognac! (Plus, I had a bunch of cognac leftover from making sidecars last week.) Simon Difford’s website is an amazing resource for fun, creative cocktails.
- Fresh or dried pineapple rings make a great garnish as well, float them on top of the cocktail, and if you want to add some height, throw some fresh pineapple fronds into the center of the ring for added drama.
- If you pop two medium-size pineapple ice cubes (from the frozen juice from a can) into a shaker, add in the vodka and Chambord, let it all sit for about 2 minutes, and then shake vigorously, you can get an amazing slushy version of the French Martini that, speaking from experience, is highly refreshing on a super hot day.
