Lychee Martini

How to make a Lychee Martini

The Lychee Martini recipe is a choose-your-own-adventure type of deal, in that you can choose how involved you want to get. This is because one of the key Lychee Martini ingredients, lychee liqueur, is something that can be quite tricky to find at the store, so it’s best to make it yourself.  

As such, we are giving you the choice of using a lychee syrup (quick-quick), a cheat’s lychee liqueur (also quick), or a full-on lychee liqueur (takes a while). 

How to make your own lychee liqueur or syrup at home

Righto, let’s get down to the somewhat finicky part of making this Martini. Don’t be disheartened, dear cocktail maker – it seems like it’s going to be a big mission, and yes, a few utensils will be dirtied in the process, but it will be 100% worth it when you pour a gorgeous Lychee Martini, we promise. Here goes.  

Option 1: Lychee syrup (>1h)

To make a lychee syrup you’ll need one cup of sugar, one cup of water and a few (approximately 5) peeled and pitted lychees. You can use fresh or canned.  

• Add the sugar and water to a saucepan and bring it to a slow boil over heat, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved
• Now add the lychees, reduce the heat and cover the saucepan, allowing it to simmer for 10 minutes
• Remove from the heat and let it cool for 30 minutes. Strain the fruit from the syrup and decant it into a bottle with a tight lid
• This is now ready to use and will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks

Option 2: Cheat’s lychee liqueur (1-2h)

To make the cheat’s lychee liqueur, you’ll first need to make the syrup from option 1 and then combine 8 oz of the syrup with 12 oz of high-quality vodka. That’s it. If you want to get experimental, try a SKYY Infusions® Pineapple Vodka or Watermelon Vodka for some extra tropical flair!  

Option 3: Real deal lychee liqueur (4 weeks)

Okay, here’s the real deal liqueur recipe, which is great to make at the height of lychee season, when the fruit is freely available and more affordable. You’ll need around 16 to 20 peeled and pitted lychees, the zest of one lime, and 16 oz of vodka.  

• Add the ingredients to a glass jar with a capacity of at least 16 oz, seal the jar and give it a good shake
• Store it in a cool, dark place for 4 weeks, shaking it now and again
• After 4 weeks, strain the fruit from the vodka using cheesecloth or a super clean kitchen towel. Really get all of the juice out of there
• Then strain it again, directly into your storage bottle, using a funnel with the cloth inside
• Add one cup of simple syrup to the bottle, tighten the lid and give it a good shake
• Store the bottle in the fridge after use, where it will stay good to use for up to three months