the paris martini cocktail recipe…yet another cocktail from paris

This is yet another drink named after the city of Paris. The drink is ever so slightly on the sweeter side, but is still refreshing. The base spirit is Gin and the sweetness comes from the Creme de Cassis. Creme de Cassis is liqueur made from red currants. It is sweet and deep dark red in color.

The original recipe of the Paris martini is attributed to Colin Field at the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. You can see this recipe in several cocktail books including The Craft of the Cocktail by Dale Degroff.

The drink is not be confused with another similarly named drink called the Parisian Martini. There are several different versions of the Parisian Martini as well.

Ingredients

  • 1 shot of Gin
  • 1 shot of Dry Vermouth
  • 1 shot of Creme de Cassis
  • lemon peel to garnish

Recipe/Preparation

  1. Add some ice cubes into a martini shaker
  2. Add a shot of the Gin into the shaker
  3. Add a shot of the Dry vermouth
  4. Add a shot of Creme de Cassis into the shaker
  5. Shake the contents of the shaker quite well
  6. Strain the contents of the shaker into a chilled martini glass
  7. Garnish the drink with a lemon peel
paris martini cocktail

Variations and Similar Drinks

Paris Manhattan: This is probably not much of a variation, other than the fact that they are both named for Paris.
City of Light: Another martini cocktail named after Paris.

There is not many variations to the drink that I could find. The variation I could think here is to replace the base spirit in this recipe with another of your choice. Vodka is a good alternate choice.

Tips and Notes

  • There are really no good substitutions for Cassis, so you will need to get Creme de Cassis
  • The original recipe asked for flamed lemon peel as the garnish. You could try that instead of a simple boring lemon peel if you are up for that.