Chocolate Covered Cherry Martini
I MAY be known to my friends and neighbors as somewhat of a mixologist…! I guess that comes with the overall love of flavors, sampling, cooking things from scratch and experimental nature of a food lover and blogger.
I have a dedication to making things from scratch, especially bar mixers and simple syrups (I mean, have you read the label on a sweet and sour mix or grenadine bottle? ick…!)
While some of my desire to make homemade syrups/mixers comes from reading labels, I also know how quick and easy it is to make them from scratch. AND…the taste is more fresh and delicious than anything you could buy from the store.
Well, this time I spent many hours concocting and sampling the perfect Valentine cocktail. I wanted to combine the romantic flavors of chocolate and cherries so I started to search for some ideas. Surprisingly, I came up short. I was shocked that there weren’t some handcrafted chocolate covered cherry cocktails out there. And the few I found did not sound appealing to me.
So the fun began! I started with a cherry simple syrup and added the right amount of cocoa powder. Add that to vodka and ice with an optional splash of sparkling water and…voila! A Chocolate Covered Cherry Martini!
And for the chocoholics out there… read below to learn how to infuse your vodka with chocolate… it is wonderful!! YUM!!
Happy Mixing and Happy Valentine’s Day!!
~ Gena
Ingredients:
Makes 2 drinks
- 3 oz vodka OR chocolate infused vodka (see below)
- 4 oz chocolate cherry simple syrup
- splash of sparkling water (optional)
- ice
- chocolate shavings for rim (from a square of good chocolate)
- cherries for garnish
For the Chocolate Cherry Simple Syrup
(Makes 1 1/2 cups or 12 oz., approximately 6 drinks.) Save any extra syrup for Chocolate Covered Cherry Italian Sodas for the kids! 🙂
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups frozen cherries (tart or sweet)
- 1 t. cocoa powder
Directions:
- For the chocolate cherry syrup, bring water, sugar and cherries to boil over med. heat in a med. sized saucepan.
- Reduce heat to low, add cocoa powder and stir to dissolve.
- Let simmer for 10 min. Turn off heat and let cool. Strain syrup into a glass and refrigerate, if not using right away. (Syrup will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.) Keep cherries for another use, like Sweet Cherry Muffins.
- For the martini, pour a little simple syrup onto a plate. Grate a little chocolate onto another plate (I use a microplane.) Dip martini glasses into the syrup and then into the choc. to rim the glasses.
- Fill a shaker full of ice.
- Add vodka and simple syrup and shake for 15 seconds.
- Pour into a chocolate rimmed martini glass. Add a splash of sparkling water, if desired. Stir.
For Chocolate Infused Vodka
Pour 1 cup vodka into a Ball jar or cup with a lid. Add 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips. Put on the lid and let sit for a few hours. Stir and use in the above Chocolate Covered Cherry Martini or sip over ice. To make a bigger batch, add more vodka and let sit longer, one or two days. Keep sampling to make sure it’s just right! 🙂
Enjoy!! Happy Valentine’s Day!
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