Raspberry Martini

This raspberry martini is a vibrant red cocktail full of berry flavor! Treat yourself with this beautiful sweet drink.

Here’s a sweet cocktail with a vibrant color: the Raspberry Martini! This drink is stunning and full of bright berry flavor: from first sip, you’ll be sold! The sweet tart, lightly floral flavor of raspberry is beautifully pure, thanks to homemade raspberry syrup. This cocktail is perfect for a romantic dinner, girls night, Valentine’s Day, or really any occasion that needs a red drink. It’s on the sweeter side, but the zing of fresh lemon balances it perfectly.

A few more sweet cocktails? Try the Chocolate Martini or Classic Mudslide.

What’s in a raspberry martini?

The raspberry martini is one in a long list of flavored vodka martinis. This family of drinks has almost nothing in common with the Classic Martini…except the glass! The classic martini stars ultra-dry gin and vermouth, and has a bitter burn on the finish. Vodka martinis became popular in the 1990’s, and they’re every flavor of sweet and fruity: think cucumber, watermelon, or chocolate.

Some vodka martinis have official definitions set by the International Bartender’s Association, like the lemon drop martini and espresso martini. All other vodka martini recipes are up to the mixologist, so the ingredients vary. Here’s what’s in our spin on a raspberry martini cocktail:

Vodka
Cranberry juice (not sweetened*)
Lemon juice
Raspberry syrup (homemade is best, or use purchased)

It’s best with homemade raspberry syrup!

This raspberry martini cocktail gets its beautifully sweet flavor from raspberry syrup! We highly recommend making the fresh syrup because it has the best, pure berry flavor. Note that you’ll need to make it in advance: but it only takes 10 minutes of hands on time. Mix up a batch and have it ready to go for shaking up the drink. Here are the basic steps:

Melt sugar: Place 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook about 1 minute until the sugar dissolves.
Add berries and simmer: Add 1/2 cup fresh raspberries and cook until the berries break down, about 5 to 6 minutes, turning the heat to low when it starts to boil. Break down the berries with a spatula as needed. Once fully liquid, strain into a jar using a fine mesh sieve and a spatula.
Cool: Allow to cool, then store refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

More uses for raspberry syrup? Make a Clover Club, or serve it over pancakes or mug cake.

Use purchased raspberry syrup in a pinch

Don’t have time to make raspberry syrup? You can find it at your local liquor store, or online. It’s best with this homemade syrup, but store-bought works in a pinch.

Find unsweetened cranberry juice

The only other thing to note about ingredients: this raspberry cocktail recipe uses 100% unsweetened cranberry juice. It’s easy to find at your local grocery these days, but be careful when you’re picking it out from the shelf. There are several different types of cranberry juice you’ll see:

Sweetened cranberry juice or cranberry juice cocktail has added sugars and sometimes high-fructose corn syrup as sweetener. We prefer…
100% cranberry juice is preferred here! The benefits of this type? The color is brighter and you can sweeten your drink to taste.

What if all you can find is sweetened cranberry juice? Easy. Just use only 1/2 ounce of the raspberry syrup instead of 3/4 ounce. Then you can adjust the flavors by adding more raspberry syrup to taste.

How to make a raspberry martini: basic steps

Got all your ingredients? Let’s make this raspberry cocktail! Here are the basic steps (or jump to the recipe):

Shake: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Add 2 handfuls ice and shake until cold. Don’t have a cocktail shaker? Use a mason jar with top.
Strain: Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a few more fresh raspberries to be fancy.

More red cocktails!

This raspberry martini is a beautiful naturally red cocktail: and there are lots more where that comes from! Cranberry, pomegranate, strawberry, and blood orange also make for brilliantly bright red cocktails. Here are a few more of our favorite red drinks:

Try a Blood Orange Margarita, Italian Margarita or Cranberry Margarita
Go bubbly with a Cranberry Mimosa, Pomegranate Mimosa or Kir Royale
Opt for modern classics like the Jungle Bird or Paper Plane
Try a bright red Strawberry Margarita or Strawberry Daiquiri
Go the red wine route with Red Sangria

When to serve a raspberry martini

The raspberry martini recipe works as a signature drink, perfect for special occasions. Serve it as a:

Happy hour drink
Dessert cocktail
Valentine’s Day or romantic dinner cocktail
Girls or guys night drink
Cocktail hour drink