Looking for a way to level up your martinis? How about this Cherry Martini, or as I like to call it, the “Queen of Hearts”. It infuses just enough sweetness, freshness, and color from the cherries to kick your cocktail up a notch, without straying too far from your favorite traditional martini.
Plus, it’s easy to make and beautifully vibrant—sure to leave a lasting impression as an elegant fruit-forward cocktail. Speaking of which, if you love fruit-infused gin drinks, check out this Blueberry Gin Fizz next!
As a busy mom who loves to kick back with a vibrant drink, I love that this cocktail only requires 4 ingredients yet brings a lot of flavor and color!
Cherry Martini Tips and Tricks
How to Make a Martini with Fresh Cherries
First things first – we want to get as much flavor as we can out of those cherries!
Before you extract the juice, Remove the pits by slicing cherries in half and using clean hands to pull the pit out. Or, for quicker extraction, you can use a cherry pitter!
Throw the pitted cherries in a bowl with the sugar and muddle them up until all of the juices are extracted. It should take you about 30 seconds.
Martinis are best smooth, so we want to get any cherry chunks out of the mix. Use your muddler or a spoon to push your cherry juice through a sieve, leaving the flesh and fruit behind.
You can push the juice directly into your martini glass, to save on extra dishes and clean up.
Dry vermouth is the best option for this Cherry Martini as it’s more herbaceous than sweet vermouth. We are also getting enough sweetness from our sugared cherry juice, and don’t need the extra punch of sweet you get from sweet vermouth.
If you want your drink chilled but do not store your gin and vermouth in the freezer, it’s best to use a cocktail shaker. Add your gin and vermouth to a shaker with ice to chill it, then pour it over your sweet cherry juice.
Cherry Martini: Queen of Hearts
SAVE RECIPE TO COLLECTION PRINT RATEEquipment
- Cocktail Muddler (optional)
Ingredients
- 10 whole fresh cherries, pitted
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 ounce Dry Vermouth
- 2 ounces gin
Instructions
- Muddle cherries and sugar in a small bowl until cherries release their juices-about 30 seconds. Use a sieve to strain sugared cherry juice into a martini glass.10 whole fresh cherries, pitted, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- Pour Vermouth and gin over your cherry juice.1 ounce Dry Vermouth, 2 ounces gin
- Garnish with an extra cherry and enjoy!
Pro Tips
- If your gin and/or Vermouth aren’t chilled and you want your drink cold, you can easily shake it with ice in a cocktail shaker!
- 1 fluid ounce = 2 tablespoons
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