It’s time once again for a Cocktail with the Caldwells! This time, The Hubs is sharing his recipe for a seriously killer raspberry martini. He invented his recipe because I fell in love with the raspberry martinis at an Italian restaurant we used to go to before we had kids. The bartender in those days was AMAZING and so was the chef. The place has gone downhill and we just don’t eat out at grown-up places that often anymore, let alone at ones that are just so-so, but luckily The Hubs has successfully reproduced that raspberry martini at home.

Before we begin, a warning. That dirty martini I taught you to make last time? You could tell from the ingredient list, which was mostly vodka, that it was gonna be a strong drink, and when you tasted it, you probably said, “Holy fuck, that is a strong drink!” Or maybe you don’t swear as much as I do, I don’t know, but I am gonna guess you said the part about it being strong. This raspberry martini is just as strong, but it won’t taste like it. It’s gonna go down smooth. So, watch yourself. Drink it at home, or have a designated driver, because you’re a goddamn adult.

So, let’s talk ingredients. You’re gonna need some raspberries. We have raspberry bushes in our yard, so summer is an awesome time for this drink, but hothouse raspberries will do in winter. If you use frozen, they need to be thawed, and you CAN do frozen, we don’t need to be raspberry snobs up in here. You’re also going to need some Chambord, which is a raspberry liqueur that comes in a globe-shaped bottle with a gold crown for a lid. Your friends will be impressed because it looks all fancy, and it also makes a really good slightly boozy fudge. You also need a bottle of sweetened lime juice (NOT regular lime juice–look for it near the grenadine), and of course, vodka. In fact, get yourself a bottle of raspberry vodka if you can. If you can’t, the vodka you bought for the dirty martinis will do.

Now, this cocktail takes a little bit of work, and you DO need a shaker. I know I was all “shakers are bad” when I wrote about my dirty martini, but here you’re gonna be smashing up some raspberries. Right tool for the right drink, OK? Put 4 or 5 raspberries in the bottom. Put in 3-4 ice cubes. Pour in like half a shot, or even just a quarter of a shot, of Chambord. Put in two splashes of sweetened lime juice. Now comes the vodka. You need multiple shots of it, like 2 or 3 shots. Cover, shake until the outside of the shaker is frosty.

Now to pour it: put a raspberry in the bottom of a martini glass (or whatever glass you have, a coffee mug works fine too). Pour the drink in the glass through the strainer–you may have to tap the shaker on your counter a couple times because the raspberry seeds can get stuck in the strainer’s holes.

And voila! You have a killer raspberry martini. Cheers!