Hazelnut Martini
Stir ∙ 3 min ∙ 27.8% ABV ∙
The Hazelnut Martini is a stirred vodka cocktail with hazelnut liqueur, white crème de cacao, and dry vermouth, finished with whole hazelnuts. Silky and cold with a nutty, faintly chocolatey finish, this pours dense and glossy, its clean spirit backbone kept dry rather than sweet.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Stir all ingredients with ice: Vodka 50 mlHazelnut liqueur 10 mlWhite Crème de Cacao 10 mlDry vermouth 10 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish by dropping 3 hazelnuts into the cocktail
Tips
- Measure the hazelnut liqueur and crème de cacao carefully — both are sweet and can overwhelm the vodka if over-poured.
- Pre-chill the martini glass before straining so the drink doesn't lose its chill on contact with room-temperature glass.
- Fine-strain rather than strain to keep any ice shards out, since the drink is served up with nothing to catch them.
History
The Hazelnut Martini has no documented creator, bar, or date; it survives only as a modern recipe-book variation on the Martini, swapping in hazelnut liqueur (commonly Frangelico) alongside a splash of white crème de cacao in place of the classic gin-and-vermouth build, with the dry vermouth retained in smaller measure. The hazelnut liqueur most associated with the drink, Frangelico, was launched commercially in 1978 and is produced in the Piedmont region of Italy, though its own backstory of 17th-century monks distilling local hazelnuts is acknowledged even by its marketers as more legend than documented fact. The Martini itself, from which this drink borrows its name and format, has a disputed and much-argued origin among cocktail historians, involving rival claims tied to California and New York bartenders in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
FAQ
What is in a Hazelnut Martini?
Vodka, hazelnut liqueur, white crème de cacao, and dry vermouth, stirred with ice and fine-strained into a chilled martini glass. It is garnished by dropping whole hazelnuts into the finished drink rather than a twist or olive.
What mixer goes with hazelnut vodka?
White crème de cacao and dry vermouth are the mixers used here, since the cacao deepens the nutty sweetness while the vermouth keeps it from turning cloying.
What is a famous hazelnut liqueur?
Frangelico is the best-known hazelnut liqueur, an Italian bottle recognizable by its monk-shaped bottle and used widely in dessert cocktails. It supplies the toasted, slightly sweet hazelnut character this cocktail is built around.
What are common martini mistakes?
The most common mistakes are shaking instead of stirring a spirit-forward martini-style drink, skipping the pre-chill of the glass, and over-pouring sweet modifiers so they bury the base spirit. In this build, careful measuring of the hazelnut liqueur and crème de cacao keeps the vodka from disappearing.
