Black Martini

Black Martini Recipe

The Spruce 

Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 3 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail

Black as night, the black martini is a great drink for any dark occasion, including a Halloween party. And yet, underneath that mysterious color lies a fruity vodka martini that everyone's sure to enjoy.

As you might imagine, there are a number of recipes for a "black martini" out there. This one uses orange liqueur to complement the vodka-raspberry mix, so the taste is amazing.

Specifically, you'll want to use blue curaçao for the orange liqueur. When it mixes with the purple-red of a raspberry liqueur like Chambord, it creates a deep, dark color that makes this martini stand out.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Black Martini Recipe ingredients
     The Spruce
  2. In a cocktail shaker, pour the vodka and liqueurs. Fill with ice and shake well.

    Black Martini Recipe
     The Spruce
  3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

    Black Martini Recipe
    The Spruce 
  4. Garnish with a lemon twist. Serve and enjoy.

    Black Martini Recipe
     The Spruce

Tips

  • Though this cocktail has a bit of a novelty theme, it still warrants using a good vodka. For the best taste, choose a brand that you enjoy on its own or in any other vodka martini.
  • Keep your martini colder longer by serving it in a chilled glass. If you don't have one pre-chilled, place a few ice cubes in the glass while you mix up the drink. Discard the ice before straining.
  • If the cocktail is not black enough for you, food coloring can be used to create a darker shade. For a single drink, use 2 drops each of blue and red and 1 drop of green. This should be shaken up with the cocktail to ensure it's fully mixed.

Recipe Variations

  • If you want to play up the Halloween theme, skip the lemon twist and garnish the martini with a creepy eyeball. It's a fun project that's easy: Stuff a blueberry into a lychee fruit with red fruit preserves to give it a bloody look.
  • Another common black martini uses gin: Shake 1 1/2 ounces of your favorite gin with 1 1/2 ounces of black raspberry liqueur (or blackberry brandy) and leave out the blue curacao. This version will not be black, but more of a deep purple; the color is dependent on the raspberry liqueur alone.
  • There is yet another way to get a black martini and that would be to make a vodka martini with Blavod. It's a black vodka that can be difficult to find, though it typically makes an appearance around Halloween in some markets. As an alternative, you can use food coloring to make black vodka.

How Strong Is a Black Martini?

Since it's made entirely of liquor, you should not expect the black martini to be a light cocktail. In fact, it's one of the stronger drinks you can mix up. Though it will vary slightly, the alcohol content on this recipe should be right around 30 percent ABV (60 proof). That's nearly as powerful as a straight shot of vodka.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
542 Calories
2g Fat
99g Carbs
9g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 542
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 3%
Saturated Fat 0g 2%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 17mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 99g 36%
Dietary Fiber 22g 79%
Total Sugars 45g
Protein 9g
Vitamin C 428mg 2,142%
Calcium 201mg 15%
Iron 5mg 25%
Potassium 1293mg 28%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)