Appletini
Vodka and sour apple liqueur, shaken, served up and bright green. The 1996 West Hollywood invention that defined the 'tini' decade, and is a sweet-sour vodka drink when made with a light hand.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a martini glass or coupe.
Add the vodka, sour apple liqueur and lemon juice to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
Strain into the chilled glass and garnish with a slice of green apple.
A thoughtful finish
- The 1996 recipe was equal parts vodka and schnapps and tasted of candy. Two to one, with a squeeze of lemon, is a drink.
- A real apple liqueur or an apple eau-de-vie with a little syrup in place of the schnapps makes a far better and less green version.
- Serve it very cold; sweetness reads lower at low temperature.
Common mistakes
- Equal parts. It becomes a green sweet with vodka in it.
- Sour mix added on top of the schnapps.
- A warm glass.
A few good questions.
Is an Appletini a Martini?
No. It is a vodka and apple liqueur sour in a stemmed glass; the name is a 1990s menu joke that stuck.
What is sour apple schnapps?
A sweetened, green-dyed apple-flavoured liqueur at around 15% ABV, launched in the mid-1990s. Real apple liqueurs and eaux-de-vie are better and less green.
Why is it green?
Food colouring in the schnapps. A version made with real apple liqueur is pale gold.
Can I make it with apple juice?
Vodka, fresh apple juice and a squeeze of lemon is a lighter, better drink that is not quite an Appletini but is close enough.
Variations
- Lemon Drop Martini — Vodka, lemon and sugar.
- Cosmopolitan — Citrus vodka, lime, orange liqueur and cranberry.
- Jack Rose — Apple brandy, lime and grenadine — the serious apple cocktail.
- Kamikaze — Vodka, lime and orange liqueur.
Where it comes from
1996 · West Hollywood, California · Adam Karsten · Lola's
The Appletini was created at Lola’s, a West Hollywood bar and restaurant, in 1996 and first sold as Adam’s Apple Martini, after Adam Karsten, the bartender who made it: vodka and the sour apple schnapps that a liqueur company had just launched. It became the signature of the late-1990s Martini-glass boom, the most-ordered cocktail in Los Angeles for a time, and the drink that serious bartenders of the 2000s defined themselves against. It is, under the name, a vodka sour sweetened with apple liqueur, and when the liqueur is used sparingly it is a pleasant one.
Sources
- Robert Simonson, A Proper Drink, 2016 (book)
- Los Angeles Times, Lola's and the Appletini, 2006 (article)
- Difford's Guide, Apple Martini, 2015 (reference)
Strength. About 1.58 US standard drinks at an estimated 23.4% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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