French Martini

Here’s a secret: the French martini isn’t French, and it isn’t a classic martini—but it is a sweet, fruity cocktail that tastes as good as it looks. Made with vodka, pineapple juice, and Chambord, it was created for the famed New York City restaurant Balthazar in the late 1980s. (You can still order a French martini at Balthazar, four decades after its invention!)

The French martini was an immediate success and was soon being shaken up in bars all over the city ... and the world. The French part of the drink is the Chambord, a black raspberry liqueur made in the Loire Valley in France. The martini part is that it’s typically served in a V-shaped martini glass garnished with a simple lemon twist.

The Difference Between a Martini and a French Martini 

The classic martini is made with gin or vodka and vermouth. That’s it. The proportions of each ingredient vary depending on who you ask—there is much debate about how much vermouth is too much. This famous cocktail is served in the iconic V-shaped glass that shares its name and is always served very cold with an olive garnish.

The French martini is a decidedly different drink. It's a sweeter, fruitier cocktail without vermouth, olive, or gin, but it's served in a martini glass.

Shaken or Stirred?

Cocktail experts say a classic martini should be stirred, not shaken in a cocktail shaker. That rule doesn’t apply to the French martini, though. This one is shaken well with ice until very cold before being strained into a martini glass.

Chambord Substitutes

Chambord is a black raspberry liqueur that's a key French martini ingredient. Swapping it for a red raspberry liqueur, what the French call crème de framboise, will change the flavor of your French martini, but it works. Other substitutes would be dark berry liqueurs like crème de mûre (blackberry) or crème de cassis (black currant).