3-Ingredient Lychee Martini Recipe

Shaking up a fun cocktail is an easy way to transform your evening from basic to elevated, and it doesn't have to be complicated. This three-ingredient lychee martini recipe, courtesy of Katie Rosenhouse, will dazzle with its fruitiness and surprise with its simplicity. "Sweet, refreshing, and elegant — a lychee martini is the kind of drink you forget about until you make one, and inevitably want them on repeat," Rosenhouse says.

If you're unfamiliar with lychees, the tropical fruit originated from Asia and has a unique flavor that can be likened to strawberries, watermelon, and citrus. The fruit is packed with juice, which infuses a fresh quality to lychee martinis. Since the fresh fruit isn't as easy to come by, this recipe features canned lychees instead. Canned lychees typically come with a syrup that also makes the perfect addition to this cocktail. 

Lychee martini pairs well with an assortment of foods, including light appetizers, spicy dishes, and even dessert. Make it again and again to give yourself plenty of opportunities to enjoy this drink with your favorite dishes.

This lychee martini recipe only asks for three ingredients, some of which you may already have. For the alcohol component, you need vodka and dry vermouth. The remaining ingredient needed is canned lychees, as you'll be using the lychees and syrup to make the drink.

Chill a martini glass in the freezer until ready to use.

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice.

Add the vodka, lychee syrup, and vermouth to the shaker.

Cover and shake vigorously for at least 20 seconds or until the shaker is coated with a layer of frost.

Strain the liquid into the chilled glass.

Thread the 2 lychees with a cocktail pick for garnishing. Serve the martini.

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Many debates exist regarding the benefits of shaking versus stirring martinis, and Rosenhouse notes that ultimately it comes down to a personal preference. Nevertheless, there's some reasoning behind each method. "Stirring gently blends and chills the ingredients without aerating or diluting them the way shaking does," Rosenhouse explains. Meanwhile, the shaking method can more quickly chill the drink and introduce air at the same time, "creating a slightly frothy result." 

Often, martinis that only contain alcohol, like dry vermouth, gin, or vodka, will be stirred to keep the drink clear. On the other hand, when you have an additional ingredient that's not alcohol, such as lychee syrup in this case, shaking vigorously can properly blend the ingredients together. The shaking technique creates a reaction that's almost like an emulsion, which ensures each sip tastes nice and smooth, with every flavor present.

While classic martinis are believed to have been invented at the end of the 1800s or early 1900s, lychee martinis did not have the same head start. Although you've probably heard of lychee martinis (even if you've never tried one), the reality is they haven't been in the cocktail repertoire all that long. The drink is a relatively recent invention that came about in the 1990s.

"At that time, Asian fusion and twists on classic martinis were all the rage, and lychee martinis began to pop up in New York City bars and nightclubs, later spreading to upscale lounges and restaurants across the country," Rosenhouse says. Though there is some debate on which establishment introduced the drink, it's widely theorized that it was a Japanese sake bar in the city's East Village, Decible. 

During this period, sake hadn't taken off in the U.S. yet, and the foundation of a classic martini offered plenty of room for experimentation. It turned out that lychee martinis offered an Asian-fusion flavor profile that customers could get behind.

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