Appletini – Apple Martini

An Appletini, or an Apple Martini, is made with only four ingredients and is easy to make and certainly easy to drink. It’s a dessert martini that leans toward the sweet side but unlike some dessert martinis, like Birthday Cake Martini, it’s not creamy. I’ll share my Appletini recipe along with ways to change it up to suit your taste. 

While I usually make this recipe with vodka, you could swap it for gin for a slightly more floral, and more classic martini variation. You could also choose to add a little cinnamon and sugar to the rim to up the dessert martini vibes.

Related: Washington Apple Shot, Bee’s Knees, Lychee Martini, Chocolate Martini, Espresso Martini, Caramel Apple Martini.

Appletini Ingredients

• Vodka – Choose a quality vodka such as Ketel One, Tito’s or Grey Goose.
• Apple Juice – The apple flavor in this recipe comes from both apple juice and schnapps liqueur.
• Sour Apple Schnapps – This is where the sour apple flavor comes in as well as the green color. They also make Apple Schnapps in red if you prefer a red appletini.
• Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed.
• Optional Garnish – We like to use a slice of Granny Smith apple as an optional garnish.

You’ll see in the photo below I used a sparkling apple juice for the Appletinis pictured here, but this is not necessary. Any apple juice will work.

How to make an Apple Martini

In a cocktail shaker, add all ingredients. Then add ice. Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker feels very cold against your hand.

Stain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a Granny Smith apple slice.

Tips & Substitutions

• You could use gin instead of vodka if you prefer.
• Any kind of apple juice works fine. You could also use an apple cider for this recipe.
• Store clean martini glasses in your freezer and you’ll always have a chilled glass ready for when you need it.
• If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, a mason jar with a lid will also work. Simply strain through a cocktail strainer to keep the ice from getting into your drink.

History of the Appletini

This drink was created on the Fourth of July in West Hollywood at a bar called Lola’s. The owner, Loren “Lola” Dunsworth, was approached by reps from Ketel One vodka to create a signature martini. She noticed an unused bottle of apple schnapps and asked bartender Adam Karsten to mix up a drink.

In pop culture, the Appletini was the drink Zach Braff’s character ordered on Scrubs. It was also the drink of choice for Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker’s meeting in The Social Network movie. Lol.

More Apple Recipes You’ll Love:

• Caramel Apples
• Candy Apples
• Apple Tart
• Apple Cobbler
• Apple Dumplings
• Apple Pie Bars
• Baked Apple Donuts
• Spiced Apple Cider
• Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Get our FREE recipe guide with our most popular recipes of all time!

Get the Guide

Free Popular Recipe Guide

Our top 25 recipes of all time!

Name *

Email *

GDPR Agreement *

• I consent to receive emails from this site. *

Sign Up

4.92 from 12 votes

Print

Get the Recipe

A dessert cocktail made with vodka and sour apple schnapps

Yield 1

Prep 5 minutes mins

Total 5 minutes mins

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 ½ ounces vodka
• ▢ 1 ounce apple juice
• ▢ 1 ounce sour apple schnapps
• ▢ ½ ounce lemon juice

Equipment

• ▢
  cocktail shaker

Instructions

• In a cocktail shaker, add all ingredients.
• Add ice. Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker feels very cold against your hand.
• Stain into a chilled martini glass.
• Garnish with a Granny Smith apple slice (optional).

Notes

If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, you can use a mason jar with a lid and then strain with a cocktail shaker into your martini glass. 

© Author Emma Chapman

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keywords apple martini, apples, Appletini, martini

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Appletini

Amount per Serving

Calories

218

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

0.1

g

0

%

Saturated Fat

 

0.02

g

0

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

0.01

g

Sodium

 

2

mg

0

%

Potassium

 

44

mg

1

%

Carbohydrates

 

15

g

5

%

Fiber

 

0.1

g

0

%

Sugar

 

14

g

16

%

Protein

 

0.1

g

0

%

Vitamin A

 

1

IU

0

%

Vitamin C

 

6

mg

7

%

Calcium

 

3

mg

0

%

Iron

 

0.04

mg

0

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.