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Our French Martini recipe is this: add Vodka, Chambord, and pineapple juice to a cocktail shaker. Shake. Pour into a Martini Glass.
That’s all there is to it – it’s that easy.
And let me tell you this: they are phenomenal.
I’ve been making them for my wife and I over the past couple of weeks and I gotta level with you guys: we may be addicted.
What is a French Martini?
A French Martini is a cocktail that contains Vodka, Chambord, and Pineapple Juice.
The concoction is shaken in a cocktail shaker, with ice, and then served in a cocktail glass with a frozen raspberry for garnish.
Click here to jump to the full recipe.
Who Invented the French Martini?
Some stories suggest that that the French Martini was invented by Chambord as part of their marketing campaign.
Sure, the French Martini recipe did a lot to promote the dark raspberry liquor, but the cocktail was actually invented in the 1980s at one of Keith McNally‘s New York City bars.
By the mid 90s, the cocktail had made it to the McNally’s Balthazar in SoHo and the London Met Bar.
And from there, it became an established drink that frequented cocktail menu’s all over the world.
What’s in a French Martini?
So, what are the ingredients we need to make our French Martini recipe?
Let’s go take a look!
…Or you can jump directly to the recipe.
Vodka
We compared 12 different brands of Vodka and determined that Smirnoff was the overall best option. Given the current climate with Russia, that may seem like a questionable choice, but Smirnoff isn’t made in Russia, it’s made all over the world.
It actually has a history of Russian persecution and the creators were forced to flee Russia.
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Chambord
Chambod is a fruit-based liqueur. It was created in 1982 and is made from red and black raspberries, Madagascan vanilla, Morrocan citrus peel, honey, and Cognac.
It’s a lovely liqueur that’s particularly good poured over ice cream.
And I think that’s one of these reasons some people prefer to use Chambord over Creme de Cassis: they prefer the flavour of raspberry over blackcurrant, but also it’s sweeter.
Can I use Creme de Cassis Instead of Chambord?
The short answer is: yes!
In fact, some cocktail bars promote this little change as their twist on the French Martini.
My wife and I recently visited a cocktail bar and partook of a number of a French Martini’s and they used Creme de Cassis.
Let me tell you: it works just as well as Chambord in this mix.
What is Creme de Cassis?
Creme de Cassis is a dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants and has been around since 1841.
For Creme de Cassis, we recommend:
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Pineapple Juice
For the best results with Pineapple Juice, always get pressed juice – by that I mean juice with no ‘bits’ (pulp) in it.
Let me tell you, there’s nothing worse (as a no pulp guy) than sipping one of these delicious bad boys and then coming across bits in it.
Yuk!
What do you need to make a French Martini?
Now we’ve taken a look at some of the ingredients that goes into our French Martini recipe, let’s go take a look at what equipment you need to make the cocktail.
Or just jump directly to the recipe.
Cocktail Shaker
Cocktail shakers improve the taste of cocktails. It’s a fact.
There’s a reason that famed British spy James Bonds says “shaken, not stirred”. And that reason is: because it tastes better.
If you don’t already have a cocktail shaker set, you might want to check out our detailed Cocktail Shaker comparison article.
But to cut a long story short, here’s the cocktail shaker we recommend:
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If you click this link and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
How to Make A French Martini More Frothy
The standard way to add froth to a cocktail is to use egg whites, but that’s too much like hard work for me.
I like my cocktails quick and easy – messing around with eggs (and potentially wasting egg yolks) doesn’t sit well with me.
The egg whites are used to make the cocktail look better, but to me they don’t look better. They just look the same and I’m not buying it.
The way to make your French Martini froth more is to give it a good hard shake – there’s natural froth in there! Let;s use it!
Jigger
It’s important to get the mix of any cocktail right. The measurements are set for a reason – to specify a tried, tested, and tasty drink.
A jigger is going to help you get those perfect measurements – after all, it is what the pro’s use.
For a jigger, we recommend:
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Martini Glass
This cocktail recipe tastes great, but let’s make it look great too.
Having the right glass for the right cocktail always makes the experience more enjoyable in my experience.
And the right glass is a cocktail glass.
We recommend:
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How to Garnish a French Martini
Our French Martini recipe calls for the cocktail to be garnished using Raspberies (I even use frozen raspberries to add extra cool to my drink) and that’s absolutely fantastic.
But other French Martini recipes call for other garnishes and those garnishes are great too!
The most common other garnish is a wedge of pineapple – pineapple’s always great, am I right?
OR if you’ve decided to use a Creme de Cassis instead of Chambord, you could just use Blackberries.
French Martini Recipe
Now let’s get right to our French Martini recipe.
French Martini
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Recipe
- Add ice, Vodka, Chambord, and Pineapple juice to a cocktail shaker.
- Shake well.
- Pour into a Martini glass.
When to Serve a French Martini
A French Martini is a great cocktail for literally any ocassion.
It really is.
I’ve made them for a date night, a dinner party with friends, and more recently at a barbecue.
The French Martini is a cocktail for all seasons and occasions – you have to try it.
Want More Cocktail Recipes?
Do you love our French Martini recipe, but want to try something a little different? We’ve got you covered!
Find more cocktail recipes in the following places on ThatCocktail:
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Further Reading
- Keith McNally – New York Restauranter.
- Balthazar Bar – McNally’s New York Bar
