Summer is fast approaching an end. Soon fresh berries at the farmers market will be replaced with winter squash. It’s hard to imagine because the sunshine and heat finally kicked in last week. This summer has been so cool and wet. After weeks of below normal conditions, temperatures were back in range of being in the 90’s. The warmth gave me an urge to drink in every last bit of summer. Capturing the essence of it caused the creation of a berry orange martini.
Blueberries and raspberries had to be the base. The juice from them combines to make a lovely deep magenta color. Sweetness from the blueberries is balanced with tartness from raspberries. It needed a little extra something though. Citrus came to mind immediately. While lemon seems to be the popular choice, I got inspiration from my orange blueberry yogurt bundt cake. I couldn’t capture summer without a fresh herb involved. Thyme was the answer. A hint of it in the background rounded out the flavors. Shaken with vodka made it a martini to sip on the porch while enjoying the season.
A gorgeous martini deserves a beautiful glass. The folks at Distinguished Imports spotted my Orange Crush Cocktail and were kind enough to send to me a set of hand blown crystal glasses. They put all my other martini glasses to shame. The crystal shimmers in the light. My favorite part is the way it looks right above the stem. It’s almost like the drink is floating on air. You can see it really good in the photo at the top of this post. You can get these glasses and more from the Distinguished Imports website.
Which berries represent summer to you? Blueberries are my number one choice. It’s a good thing the syrup recipe below makes enough for several martinis. I see a lot of summer sipping in the coming weeks…
Berry Orange Martini
Ingredients
For the berry orange syrup:
- 1 pint blueberries
- 1/2 pint raspberries
- 4 to 5 fresh thyme sprigs
- Juice from 1 orange
For the martini:
- 1 ounce berry orange syrup
- 2 ounces vodka
- 1/2 ounce triple sec
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
Instructions
For the berry syrup:
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Bring the blueberries, raspberries, thyme, and orange juice to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low.
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Cook, stirring occasionally, until the raspberries soften and blueberries begin to burst, about 3 minutes.
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Pour through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth-lined strainer and press the berries to get out all the juice. Discard the seeds, skins, and thyme. Chill syrup until ready to use.
For the martini:
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Add berry syrup, vodka, triple sec, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
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Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass.
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Garnish with an orange slice if desired.
Recipe Notes
A recipe for a berry orange martini. It's made with a homemade syrup of fresh berries, orange juice, and thyme. Vodka and triple sec are shaken with the syrup and served in a martini glass.
Disclosure: I received a set of 4 martini glasses from Distinguished Imports at no charge. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are my own unless otherwise stated or contained within a guest post.
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen Notes says
September 12, 2013 at 9:25 amYou just gave me an idea to use some berries I have. Red fruits make SUCH great drinks! Truth is, they make great cakes, muffins, tarts…
Renee says
September 13, 2013 at 6:51 amGlad I could inspire you Paula and so true that red fruits do well in baking.
Stacy says
September 12, 2013 at 10:12 amWhat a gorgeous glass for a beautiful drink, Renee! Our weekend is just starting here and I NEED one of these pronto.
Renee says
September 13, 2013 at 6:52 amThanks Stacy and I hope you have a great weekend. Cheers!
Laura Dembowski says
September 13, 2013 at 3:25 pmI need a drink after a long week this week and this looks incredible! I love blueberries and blackberries and think they would make a great version of this martini.
Renee says
September 14, 2013 at 7:05 amOh yes, blueberries and blackberries would be a nice combo of berries. The color will be different though.
Anita at Hungry Couple says
September 14, 2013 at 12:04 amI’m going to try your syrup method. Every time I’ve tried making a cocktail with blueberries it tasted medicinal but I think adding the other fruit will solve that. And I love using thyme in cocktails!
Renee says
September 14, 2013 at 7:08 amProbably that the blueberries don’t cook long plus the additional fruit and orange juice will help it. I’ve had some weird tasting blueberry cocktails too but I don’t know if it is because of the berries or that it is using blueberry infused or flavored vodka. Some of those infused or fake flavored ones do taste a bit odd.
foodwanderings says
September 14, 2013 at 2:38 pmThanks Renee for this education. I so clueless when it comes to alcohol, spirits and cocktails. It looks so elegant and sophisticated and sometimes when dining out I order one cause’ I hope to be all of th above one day when I grow up. 🙂
Renee says
September 18, 2013 at 4:05 pmOh Shulie, you are elegant and sophisticated. Anyone who makes food the way you do and presents it in such a lovely way has to be.
Lora @cakeduchess says
September 16, 2013 at 9:26 amJust gorgeous, Renee. I love the glass and the styling of this post. A delicious way to enjoy summer berries in a splendid drink.
Renee says
September 18, 2013 at 4:22 pmThank you so much Lora
Christi says
November 25, 2013 at 8:15 pmThis is a fabulous recipe! Thanks for the post. I need to mix things up, I typically stick to the classic wet martini.
Renee says
November 26, 2013 at 4:04 pmA classic wet martini is nice however I do like to change it up occasionally with martinis like this one.