Recipes & Cooking Drinks Cocktails Sour Apple Martini 4.4 (11) 1 Review Shake up a sweet and sour apple martini for your next at-home happy hour with one of our favorite apple cocktail recipes. By Erin Hooker Erin Hooker Erin is the assistant food editor at Better Homes & Gardens, where she covers weeknight and budget cooking, along with trending copycat recipes. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on April 2, 2024 Rate PRINT Share Total Time: 5 mins Servings: 2 Jump to Nutrition Facts For a flavored riff on a favorite cocktail, our sour apple martini recipe offers a puckery punch to your classic drink. Unlike a regular martini recipe that contains only gin and dry vermouth, this sour apple martini combines sour apple schnapps with your choice of vodka or gin, and a few favorite add-ons. With just five ingredients, it's easy to make and only take five minutes. Place a maraschino cherry at the bottom of each glass, and you'll get a beautiful marble-like garnish shining through the sour apple schnapps’ vibrant green hue. We like ours with a fizzy finish, so we topped off this appletini with a splash of diet lemon-lime soda. And if you want to go extra festive around a holiday like Halloween or Christmas, decorate your cocktail glass rim with rainbow sugar for a sparkly detail that will impress your guests. Popular Sweet Martini Recipes Is an apple martini a "real" martini? Not exactly, but plenty of bars and mixologists have adopted the martini name for cocktails that are served in a martini glass. It's not hard at all to shake up a martini, and once you learn, you can experiment with a flurry of cocktail recipes that are trending today. Try our espresso martini, lemon drop martini, and pistachio martini — all sweeter cocktails that are just as delicious (and just as strong!) as this apple variation. Get Inspired with Home Bar Ideas If you're regularly shaking up new cocktails and pulling out a barstool for family and friends at your home, why not create your own martini bar? You can easily make your ultimate beverage station with our collection of home bar designs, plus we have basement bar ideas for every budget. It's easy to entertain when you have the perfect space for serving up drinks to guests, and these beautiful wet bar designs can work in almost any home. When the weather is nice, you can transform your yard into the ultimate patio-season hangout with our outdoor kitchen bar ideas. But if you're limited on space, don't underestimate a useful bar cart which can hold your favorite shelf-stable ingredients and bar tools — simply park it wherever you want guests to refill. Frequently Asked Questions What is an apple martini made of? The five ingredients in an apple martini are maraschino cherries, apple schnapps, vodka (or gin), and ice cubes. We like to top ours with diet lemon-lime carbonated beverage. How do you make a sour apple martini? Start with vodka or gin, then shake with sour apple schnapps. A splash of lemon-lime soda provides bubbles and balance for the tart schnapps, and a maraschino cherry garnish finishes each drink with elegance. What does an apple martini taste like? If you like the taste of a crisp Granny Smith apple, you'll love how this drink reminds you of the tart fruit. Its slightly sour taste is perfectly balanced with sweet flavor. Is an apple martini a "real" martini? A true martini has gin and vermouth, and sometimes vodka in place of gin. Many drinks use the martini name to imply a cocktail that is strong tasting, higher in alcohol, and strained into a martini glass. BHG / Ana Cadena How to Make Easy Party Cocktails That Will Impress Your Guests Ingredients 2 maraschino cherries with stems ⅓ cup sour apple schnapps (3 ounces) 2 tablespoon vodka or gin (1 ounce) Ice cubes Diet lemon-lime carbonated beverage, chilled Directions BHG / Ana Cadena Place a cherry into each of two 4-ounce martini glasses; set aside. BHG / Ana Cadena In a cocktail shaker, combine schnapps and vodka. Add ice cubes to fill shaker half full; shake until very cold. Test Kitchen Tip: Shaking the ingredients vigorously allows small shards of ice to splinter off from the cubes. These glistening bits help keep the drink ultracool in the glass. BHG / Ana Cadena Strain vodka mixture into the prepared martini glasses. Fill glasses with lemon-lime carbonated beverage. Rate It Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 147 Calories 14g Carbs Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 2 Calories 147 % Daily Value * Sodium 12mg 1% Total Carbohydrate 14g 5% *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.