Key Lime Martini
A dessert-style sour using vanilla vodka to mimic pie crust.
Base spirit
Vodka
Style
Dessert
Glassware
Coupe
The Key Lime Martini is a modern dessert cocktail that leverages vanilla-flavored vodka to simulate the flavor of a pie crust against the tartness of lime juice. Often enriched with a touch of cream or coconut, it balances sharp citrus acidity with confectionary sweetness. Unlike a standard Gimlet, it aims for a creamy, pastry-like profile. It demonstrates how flavored vodkas can be used as structural ingredients to evoke specific culinary dishes.
Ingredients
Servings
- • 2 oz vanilla vodka
- • 1 oz fresh lime juice
- • 0.5 oz simple syrup
- • 0.5 oz heavy cream or coconut cream
Did you know?
“Vanilla vodka became a bartending staple in the early 2000s specifically to enable 'pastry' style cocktails like this and the Cake Batter Martini.”
Source:Modern cocktail archives; Imbibe
Bartender's Note
Rim the glass with crushed graham crackers to complete the pie effect.
How to make the Key Lime Martini
- 1Rim a chilled coupe with lime juice and crushed graham crackers
- 2Add vanilla vodka, lime juice, syrup, and cream to a shaker with ice
- 3Shake vigorously
- 4Strain into the prepared glass
- 5Garnish with a lime wheel
