How French is a French martini? I’m not really sure. It might be more of a French-inspired kind of thing, but it sure sounds good. I’m not big on super sweet cocktails, but I usually like sweet cocktails when they are made with juice. This recipe fits that bill by using pineapple juice, Chambord, and vodka. I’m guessing the vodka will disappear once the sweet juice and liqueur are added, but I’m not sure on pairing raspberry with pineapple. Join me as I find out if they work together or not.
Chambord liqueur, vodka, and pineapple juice combine for a wonderful shaken cocktail.
The Ingredients
Since this is a French martini, I decided to use a Grey Goose vodka since it’s made in France. And it’s a favorite vodka of mine because it’s so smooth. There’s no harsh bite after you sip it, making it ideal for creating a cocktail that can be sipped slowly. Plus it just seemed natural since Chambord is French raspberry liqueur.
The recipe says to garnish with blackberries or raspberries, but the accompanying blog post mentions that a lemon twist would be nice. I opted for that instead of buying a whole pint of berries just to use a couple as a garnish.
The Process
Making my French martini went according to the instructions, and I had it shaken, poured into a martini glass, and garnished with a twist in about half the time listed (2 1/2 minutes instead of 5). In fact, the garnish was probably the most difficult part of this recipe, and it wasn’t difficult at all.
Making a lemon twist is very simple. Just use a channel knife to peel off a short strip of lemon peel then twist it to create the curl. Twisting the peel around something thin like a pencil helps if you have trouble getting the shape to hold.
You can still make a twist if you don’t have a channel knife, but it’s a little more difficult (not much). This short tutorial shows you exactly how to do it.
