Cherry Coconut Martini

I was going to call this Cherry Coconut Martini a Valentine’s cocktail – it has all the makings: it’s red, it’s delicious and I’m posting the recipe right before Valentine’s Day. Also, if you have two, you will be in love with everyone.

 

 

But the reality is…this Cherry Coconut Martini is so delicious that it would be a shame to limit it just to one day. I’ve been drinking some variation of it for about a year (not straight or non-stop though, just in case you were wondering.)

This drink came about simply enough – Greg and I have friends we have dinner with regularly. There’s a pretty big group of us and whenever we get together we are always trying or creating a new drink. Coconut Ciroc has long been a favorite vodka and that was the basis for our drink one night. We’d been mixing this Ciroc with pineapple, fresh pineapple chunks, fresh mango, lime and various other fruits (recipes for another day?) during the summer but it wasn’t summer anymore and we wanted a “cool weather” drink.

I’ll be honest, when my friend suggested mixing coconut with cherry I was a little hesitant. I couldn’t imagine what that combo would taste like.

Our first cocktail, on the rocks was this:

 

 

Cherry Coconut Cocktail

2 oz. Coconut Ciroc

2 oz. Grey Goose Cherry Noir

2-3 frozen cherries

Directions: Serve in a rocks glass over ice with a squeeze of lemon or lime to taste

This is a good simple variation of the martini, easy to make and not a lot of mess.

I kept thinking it was missing something though. Whenever I’d drink this cocktail I’d wait for the cherries to melt a little and squish them into the drink.

You may be a step ahead of me already, but I didn’t know you could buy black cherry juice. Not “kool-aid” just real cherry juice. Once I found out about the juice and found a secret ingredient I hadn’t thought of before – this cocktail went from good to amazing!

 

 

The final recipe which I serve as a martini but could still be served on the rocks is:

 

 

Cherry Coconut Martini

2 oz. Coconut Ciroc

2 oz. Grey Goose Cherry Noir

1 oz. black cherry juice

1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

1/2 oz. pomegranate quince white balsamic vinegar (this is the secret ingredient, but don’t worry, I have substitutions)

2-3 frozen cherries

Directions: fill a shaker glass with ice, add all ingredients except cherries, shake like crazy for a good 20-30 seconds to, hopefully, get little ice crystals like below:

 

 

This martini has the tartness of the cherries and cherry vodka but it’s smoothed out by the sweetness of the coconut. It’s on the sweet-ish side which is how I ended up with the secret ingredient.

 

 

If you don’t have pomegranate quince white balsamic vinegar specifically, don’t worry. You can leave it out and add more lemon or lime if you prefer.

If you have another fruit & white balsamic vinegar – try what you’ve got. It’s not going to make or break the cocktail either way but if you want to add a “layer of flavor” I suggest you try it.

 

 

Variations: If you want to make a batch of this martini you can change the ounces to cups and serve from a pitcher. If you want it lighter/less “pure alcohol” serve over ice and add seltzer (cherry seltzer is great with this) to each individual drink, not to the pitcher.

So, now that you know what I’m having for Valentine’s Day (after hockey practice and a basketball game – both very romantic) and what I’ll be listening to, what are you making? Are you trying a new cocktail or dinner recipe? I’d love to hear all about it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stephanie