Ingredients
- 3 oz Cherry Vodka
- 3 oz Creme De Cacao
- 3 oz heavy cream
- 1 oz Grenadine Syrup
- Chocolate Sauce
Instructions
- Shake It Up: In a cocktail shaker, combine the cherry vodka, crème de cacao, heavy cream, and grenadine. Shake until well-mixed.
- Prep the Glass: Hold your martini glass by the stem and slowly rotate it while drizzling chocolate syrup on the inside, coating the glass.
- Pour and Garnish: Carefully pour the shaken mixture into the prepared martini glass. Top it off with a cherry garnish.
- Serve: Enjoy your decadent Cherry Chocolate Martini.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition:
Where it came from
The Cherry Chocolate Martini is a 2000s American dessert-martini build, part of the wave of cream-and-flavour martinis that came out of casino bars and chain restaurants. The cocktail predates the name and is built from the same logic as the Chocolate Martini: vodka, creme de cacao, cream, with a fruit accent that names the variation.
It sits in the dessert-martini family with the Chocolate Martini, the Espresso Martini and the Pornstar Martini. All four lean on a flavoured base spirit and a sweet liqueur to create a dessert-in-a-glass profile. The Cherry Chocolate Martini picks cherry vodka as the base and adds a chocolate-sauce-lined glass as its visual signature.
Best ordered as a dessert cocktail at a casual or upscale-casual restaurant, after dinner, in place of a coffee or a small dessert. Not a craft-cocktail menu pour and not a brunch order. The chocolate drizzle is the visual finish that earns the cocktail its dessert pricing.
What it tastes like
Cherry brightness up front, cocoa sweetness through the middle, soft cream on the finish, with a chocolate-sauce hit from the glass rim that comes through on the swallow. Reads like a chocolate-covered cherry candy in liquid form.
Around 17 to 18 percent ABV in the glass once shaken with ice. A real one and a half standard drinks per cocktail. The cream and the chocolate hide the alcohol read, which is why dessert martinis reward pacing.
The technique
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine three ounces of cherry vodka, three ounces of white creme de cacao, three ounces of heavy cream and an ounce of grenadine. Shake vigorously until the tin is frosted, around fifteen seconds.
Hold a chilled martini glass by the stem and slowly rotate it while drizzling chocolate syrup down the inside, coating the glass with a swirl pattern. Strain the shaken mixture carefully into the prepared glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry on a cocktail pick.
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Ingredient Spotlight
The bottles that make or break this drink.
The cherry vodka
- Use
- Stoli Razberi paired with cherry juice, Smirnoff Cherry, or Three Olives Cherry.
- Skip
- Sour cherry liqueur. Wrong sugar curve and wrong alcohol weight.
- Why
- The cherry vodka is the load-bearing fruit base. The flavour-infused vodka carries the headline cherry note that the creme de cacao and the cream build on. Plain vodka with cherry syrup pulls the cocktail toward soda territory.
The white creme de cacao
- Use
- Tempus Fugit, Marie Brizard, or DeKuyper White Creme de Cacao.
- Skip
- Dark creme de cacao. Different colour, similar flavour, breaks the pink visual.
- Why
- White creme de cacao gives the cocktail its cocoa flavour without darkening the colour. The clear chocolate liqueur lets the cherry-pink shine through and lets the chocolate sauce drizzle stand out as the visual signature.
The chocolate sauce
- Use
- Hershey's syrup or any thick chocolate sauce.
- Skip
- Powdered cocoa. Does not adhere to the glass.
- Why
- The chocolate sauce drizzle is the visual finish. The thick syrup adheres to the cold glass and creates the swirl pattern that gives the cocktail its dessert presentation. Hershey's is the standard; any thick chocolate sauce works.
Three Variations
Three real ways bartenders riff on this drink. Same idea, three different jackets.
The standard build
- Cherry Chocolate Martini, with chocolate-lined glass
- Equal three-ounce pours of cherry vodka, white creme de cacao and heavy cream, with an ounce of grenadine, shaken hard and strained into a chocolate-sauce-lined martini glass.
The Black Forest build
- Cherry Chocolate Martini, with kirsch
- Replace half the cherry vodka with kirsch (cherry brandy). Adds depth and a more spirit-forward profile. Closer to a Black Forest Gateau in liquid form.
The dairy-free build
- Cherry Chocolate Martini, with coconut cream
- Replace the heavy cream with coconut cream. Adds a tropical note that bridges the cherry and the chocolate; pulls the cocktail toward Pina Colada cousin territory.
What if I don't have…
Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.
Plain vodka with an ounce of cherry liqueur or Cherry Heering added to the build. Loses some of the fruit weight; keeps the flavour shape.
Vanilla vodka with a tablespoon of cocoa syrup. Loses the chocolate weight; gains the vanilla note.
Half-and-half or whole milk with a teaspoon of vanilla syrup. The cocktail loses some texture; the vanilla picks up some of the sweetness.
A small drop of red food colouring in simple syrup. Or skip entirely; the cherry vodka carries the colour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to what people search for after Googling this drink.
What is in a Cherry Chocolate Martini?
Three ounces of cherry vodka, three ounces of white creme de cacao, three ounces of heavy cream and an ounce of grenadine, shaken with ice and strained into a chocolate-sauce-lined martini glass.
How strong is a Cherry Chocolate Martini?
Around 17 to 18 percent ABV in the glass once shaken with ice. A real one and a half standard drinks per cocktail. The cream and the chocolate hide the alcohol read.
What does it taste like?
Cherry brightness up front, cocoa sweetness through the middle, soft cream on the finish, with a chocolate-sauce hit from the glass rim that comes through on the swallow. Reads like a chocolate-covered cherry candy in liquid form.
How do I drizzle the chocolate sauce inside the glass?
Hold the chilled martini glass by the stem and slowly rotate it while squeezing chocolate syrup down the inside. The cold glass holds the syrup in place; the rotation creates the swirl pattern.
Can I use plain vodka with cherry liqueur?
Yes. Plain vodka plus an ounce of cherry liqueur or Cherry Heering carries the cherry flavour. The cocktail loses some of the fruit-vodka weight but the flavour shape stays the same.
Should I shake or stir?
Shake. The shake combines the cream with the spirits and creates the cold frothy texture that the cocktail needs. Stirring leaves the cream separated from the liqueurs.
Can I make it dairy-free?
Replace the heavy cream with coconut cream or oat cream. Coconut cream adds a tropical note; oat cream stays neutral. The cocktail works either way.
What kind of glass should I serve it in?
A chilled martini or coupe glass. The wide bowl gives the chocolate-sauce drizzle room to be visible and gives the cocktail its dessert presentation.
Can I batch it for a party?
Combine the four ingredients in a chilled bottle and refrigerate. Drizzle the chocolate sauce into glasses ahead of time; shake the cocktail with ice and pour at service. Avoid pre-shaking the whole batch; the cream loses texture if it sits.
What other cocktails are similar?
A Chocolate Martini, an Espresso Martini, a Pornstar Martini and a Mudslide. All four sit in the dessert-martini or cream-cocktail family.
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