Friday, November 21, 2008

Lychee Martini


I absolutely love the flavor of lychee, it's so unusual and indescribable I'm not even going to try. It's a fruit native to China, and has a very short season as a fresh fruit in the US, about 7 weeks to be exact. I have only been able to find fresh lychee's at the Asian super marked during the later part of summer.
For this cocktail I had to resort to a canned lychee, and used the syrup as part of the flavoring. It's light, refreshing, and in-between citrus and peachy in flavor. You must use a very high quality vodka in this drink, as the lychee has a very light flavor, and anything less than top shelf would definitely overwhelm the delicate, delicious flavor of the lychee.
Lychee Martini
3 Ounces Good Vodka
3 Ounces Lychee Juice (from the can)
Lychee, for garnish
Shake the vodka and lychee juice in a cocktail shaker full of ice until very cold, strain into a martinin glass, garnish with lychee's and serve immediately.

9 comments:

  1. Cheers, make mine a large one. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ive only had lychee martinis at bars, but should definitely make this at home. Yours looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ah, my favorite martini! I always order this at restaurants if it is in the menu and have a homemade version in my blog too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Saw this post on Craigslist! Love lychee....but moreover I LOVE that martini glass!! Any idea where to find them?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I second the request for the glassware origins. Please tell.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The glasses are Nachtmann brand, which are made by Riedel. I got them at Sur La Table several years ago and have tried to add to my collection and can't find them anymore. Let me know if you find them I would love to add to my set. I have the wine glasses and martinin glasses, would love to find a champagne flute!

    ReplyDelete
  7. A friend made these for me, using a good vanilla vodka - amazing! He said they were called Shoju - with is conveniently similar enough to the Korean drink that I'm dubious.

    Or maybe it was Shujo...


    Whatever you call 'em, they're good!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jason

    This looks really yummy!!! I will have to try it.....
    Can't wait to sip it.

    Nan K.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looks like this is the Aspen pattern. The champagne flutes are even on sale.

    http://www.nachtmann-online.com/product_info.php?cPath=73&products_id=336

    ReplyDelete