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Types of Martini You Need to Try

Sep 15th 2022 - Monica Cunanan

Types of Martini You Need to Try

A martini is a cocktail classic and is of the most versatile mixed drinks you can make. Some bartenders and bar owners have taken a slightly more relaxed approach to the modern martini, and some people believe any drink made by shaking or stirring, straining, and serving straight up in a chilled glass is a martini. If you are a cocktail enthusiast and you want to learn more about different kinds of martini recipes that you can try out, read on!

The Types of Martinis

  • Bikini Martini
  • French Martini
  • Classic Martini
  • Chocolate Martini
  • Watermelon Martini
  • Blood Orange Martini
  • Lemon Drop Martini
  • Dirty Martini
  • Raspberry Martini
  • Cranberry Martini
  • Cucumber Martini
  • Vesper Martini
  • Key Lime Martini
  • Espresso Martini
  • Mexican Martini
  • Pomegranate Martini
  • Gibson Cocktail

Bikini Martini (Hawaiian Martini)

A Bikini vodka martini is a fun, tropical flavor, a fruity martini that will impress your guests who love sweet fruity drinks. It has a tropical vibe and looks stunning in a martini glass. These flavored vodkas are similar to Malibu Sunset cocktails.

How to make them:

  • Bikini martini is served with vodka, coco­nut rum, sweet grenadines, and pineapple juices.
  • You can layer this drink with even more gorgeous colors
  • Make sure you're pouring slowly so that you don’t create waves. Add olives for garnish

Want to know more about the different types of cocktail glasses? You can check out this article!

French Martini

If you're searching for an unusual fruity vodka martini, you'll enjoy the French martinis. This perfect martini has almost nothing in common with the classic dry gin. Instead, the French Martini is balanced and has a fresh fruit flavor. The key to the perfect French martinis is using pineapple juice and black raspberries.

How to make them:

  • Each and every drink is unique and interesting, and you might end up craving the fruity flavor of French martini instead of your classic Marti­ni recipe.
  • To create a French Martini, you must use pineapple juice and vodka. The key ingredient is liquor.
  • Add some raspberries to your French martinis for garnish.

Classic Martini

It's not clear when the classic martini recipe was first created. There are several theories regarding the origin of the Gin Martini, but the most widely accepted one is that based it was similar to a cocktail called the Martinez that was created in the 1860s in the area of Martinez, California. A recipe for the classic martinis was first published in print in a cookery magazine in 1988 and it was made with dry vermouth

How to make this classic recipe:

  • Wondered how to make a martini? This classic martini cocktail made with dry vermouth tastes just right for making the perfect gin martini.
  • A classic martini consists of only two official ingredients: Gin and Dry Vermouth. Classic martinis should be stirred, not shaken.
  • Garnish your martinis with a green olive or with a slice of fresh lemon.
  • To make a vodka Martini or even dry vodka martini, simply substitute vodka for gin.

Chocolate Martini

A delicious type of martini, the Chocolate Martinis definitely stands out with its unique and distinct flavors and sophistication. Imagine the chocolate martinis as alcoholic desserts served in martinis glasses.

How to make them:

  • To create this delicious drink, you need chocolate liquor, Bailey’s Irish Cream, vodka, chocolate sauce, and vodka.
  • You're going to pour your melted dark chocolates into your martini glasses and then create a dark chocolate rim on the glass.
  • To make your chocolate rim, first place a small bowl filled with chocolate sauce (or melted chocolate) near the stovetop. Then, when ready to serve, dip the rim of your chilled martini glass into the chocolate sauce.
  • To finish off this classic cocktail, shave some good quality chocolate over the drink.

Watermelon Martini

If you enjoy fruity, aromatic cocktails, then you're likely to enjoy this watermelon martini. This watermelon martini that's made with splash of lemon juice, vodka, and mint leaves, can definitely surprise you in all aspects

How to make them:

  • You can use any kind of orange liqueurs, including Cointreau or triple sec, but adding a splash of Limoncello gives it a more citrusy taste.
  • If your watermelons are perfectly ripe, you don't even need to add sugar to make these watermelon martinis sweeter.
  • Garnish your watermelon martini with a slice of ripe but firm watermelon with the rind still attached.
  • Want to know how to cut watermelons or how to tell if they're ripe? Check this out!

Blood Orange Martini

This cocktail will be perfect for serving a beautiful fruity martini recipe. Blood orange martinis have strong citrus flavors and offer that perfect combination of bitterness, tartness, and sweetness.

How to make the traditional recipe:

  • You need a London dry gin, blood oranges (to create homemade orange juice) , Cointreau or Triple Sec (or Grand Marnier), and fresh lime juice.
  • Put everything in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes and shake vigorously for a few seconds. Strain into a martini glass.
  • Add slices of blood oranges or limes to garnish your blood orange martinis.

Lemon Drop Martini

One of the most popular martinis is the lemon drop martini. Many people enjoy a lemon drop cocktail with Cointreau.

How to make them:

  • Make sure to use fresh lemon for making your lemon martinis. If you don't have any lemons, just use bottled lemonade instead.
  • To make the lemony martini, put all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker
  • To create the perfect lemon drop martinis, use lemon peel and sugar for the rims. To get a lemony sugar rim, just rub the rim with some freshly grated lemon zest with regular white granulated sugar.
  • Add a classic garnish of a fresh piece of citrus fruit (such as a lemon twist) or lemon wedge to your fun cocktail.

Dirty Martini

One of the earliest, unique martini flavor variations was the simple dirty martinis.

During the 1930s, the Dirty Marti­n was popularized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Franklin D. Roosevelt served a British prime minister Winston Churchill.

Whether or not that particular story is entirely true, it makes for a good tale and has certified the dirty martini into history.

How to make them:

Making a dirty martini is really simple. You make a regular Martini by mixing gin and dry vermouth together, but then you top off the drink with an extra dash of olive juice and you can also twirl your green olive around in the cocktail glass

Model Featured: Libbey 37799

Raspberry Martini

This is something that your guests will really enjoy because o the beautiful pinkish-red color of this martini with raspberry flavor. Serve this raspberry martini at any time of year, but they're especially good served during the holiday season. They're also ideal for Valentine's Day or NYE.

How to make them:

  • Use a mix of vodka or gin with dry vermouth for black raspberry liqueur.
  • Cranberry juice adds another layer of sweetness to the drink, and raspberry simple syrup brings out the balance of tart taste of the cranberries.
  • To prepare the raspberry simple syrup, combine equal parts water and sugar in a saucepan. Add the rasp­berries and bring to a boil. Reduce.
  • You must serve this martini chilled, so you need to shake it with crushed ice.
  • Add more fresh raspberries to garnish.

Cranberry Martini

Cranberry martinis are a perfect balanced cocktail with accent flavors of tartness and sweetness. This classic martini cocktail is perfect if you're having a holiday party or doing any entertaining during the holidays, this beautiful cranberry martini will be sure to impress your guests.

How to make them:

  • With triple sec, vodka, Cointreau, and cranberry juice juices, this martini is absolute perfection when you garnish it with extra orange slices and sugared cranberry.
  • Put ice in a martini shaker and shake it up. Strain it into a martini glass.
  • To finish off your drink, place some sugared cranberry skewers around the edge of your cocktail glasses, then top them with an orange slice.
  • You can also make an orange martini with gin.

Cucumber Martini

Did you know that there's actually a type of vodka made from cucumbers? This cucumber martini gets its flavor from the Elderflower Liqueur St. Germain, which adds some lovely floral notes.

How to make them:

  • To make your cucumber martinis, simply muddle your cucumber slices and use regular white vodka.
  • We love cucumber martinis that are made with just cucumbers, vodka, St. Germain, and dry vermouth.
  • Garnish your cucumber martinis with thin slices of cucumber and you have cool perfection served up in a cocktail shaker.

Vesper Martini "shaken, not stirred"

If you're a literary type, the Vesper martinis might be something you'd enjoy. The beloved Vesper Martinis were invented between the pages of books and were the iconic cocktails of no one else but James Bond, or 00 7. The author, Ian Flemming, invented the Vesper martini for the novel "Casino Royale," which was published in 1953

James Bond orders his martini "shaken, not stirred." The Vesper is called after Bond's current girlfriend, Vesper Lynd.

This iconic drink contains Vodka, Lillet Blanc, and vodka.

Key Lime Martini

Key lime martinis are delicious if you love key lime pies. It is creamy and sweet and has a nice and sharp flavor.

To get the delicious key lime flavor, you'll want to use vanilla vodka and fresh lime juice or Key Lime Juice.

How to make them:

  • To add a rich coconut taste to this Key Lime Martini, use cream of Coconut.
  • Pineapple adds just enough sweetness without overwhelming the taste buds.
  • Heavy cream gives this key lime martini a rich flavor.
  • Top with a graham crackers crust, just like in Key Lime Pie.

Espresso Martini

To create a delicious, strong martini with a bit of an extra kick, use the espresso martini recipe. The espresso martini is the perfect drink to enjoy after a big evening meal. If you're a fan of both caffeine and alcohol, the espresso martini is for you. It may also remind you of Irish coffee, but it is much simpler to make.

How to make them:

  • To create an espresso martini, you just add coffee-flavored liquor (such as Kahlua), vodka, chilled coffee, and simple syrup to a shaker filled with ice.
  • These ingredients are mixed together in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes and then poured into martini glasses.
  • To add some fun and elegance to your martinis, garnish them with coffee beans.

Mexican Martini

This Mexican martini is a copy of the original recipe from Trudy's restaurant in Austin, Texas. It is essentially a dirty martini because it has a dash of olive juice from olive brines. Olives are what makes a martini a dirty martini.

How to make them:

  • To create this copycat drink, you'll use fresh lime juice and fresh oranges.
  • Add orange liqueurs such as triple sec or Cointreau for more citrus flavors.
  • A good-tasting Mexican martini is made by mixing high-grade tequila with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a splash of club sodas like 7-Up or sprite.
  • Rim the martini glasses with coarse salt and top them off with stuffed green olives, orange peel, and a lime wedge.

Model Featured: Libbey 7512

Pomegranate Martini

Try this delicious pomegranate martini if you're looking for something different to serve at your next cocktail party! The pomegranate martini is light, fruitier, and has a tartness. This Martini is similar to a cosmopolitan, but a Cosmopolitan has cranberry liquor instead of pomegranate juice. This fruity martini is light and refreshing, but it gets even more flavor by adding fresh lemons.

How to make them:

  • This cocktail recipe calls for the orange liquor Cointreau, which gives the drink an extra dose of citrus flavor.
  • Sugar syrups make the Pomegranate Martini perfectly sweet.
  • Add a twist of fresh lemon juice to this fruity cocktail.

Gibson Cocktail (Gibson Martin)

Imagine a dry martini with an onion garnish and you've got one of the most interesting martini variations: The Gibson cocktail. The Gibson Cocktail has been around since the 1800s. According to most mixologists, it was invented by a man named Walter D. K. Gibson in 1898.

He deliberately chose to garnish his signature drink with a pickled onion. Apparently, Mr. Gibson had the idea of using onions to prevent colds, so they added them to their Gibson cocktail.

How to make them:

  • To create this popular cocktail, you need three ingredients: gin, dry vermouth, and pickled cocktail onion.

Ready to Show off Your Newfound Martini Knowledge?

With this guide on becoming a great bartender and this guide to different types of martini, you are ready to start serving up amazing drinks. With a few basic ingredients and a few simple tips and tricks, your drinks can be better than anything you've ever made before.

We provide bartending supplies and cocktail-making tools for professional and home bartenders. Get in touch, and we'll help you get all the restaurant equipment you need to run your business!