Let me start by saying that I think it is totally okay to have sweet drinks once in a while. White Russians? Amazing! Espresso Martinis? Classic! So what’s wrong with the usual syrup-y sweet chocolate Martini? Nothing. This post is just about an interesting approach that is not meant as a substitute for the “common cocktail”: A dry Chocolate Martini. Believe it or not, I had this idea in mind for a while and I was very happy to discover that legendary German bartender Jörg Meyer recently posted a video on it (in German unfortunately).

Martini vs. Chocolate Martini

But finally, what is a “dry chocolate Martini”? Usual chocolate Martinis primarily consist of liqueurs, syrups and vodka. (Here is an example using proper ingredients.) Traditional (dry) Martinis consist of vodka or gin along with dry vermouth. While the “correct” or “best” ratio is the topic of some very controversial discussions and ranges from ridiculously small amounts of vermouth to straight 1:1 measures, both lemon peel and green olives are widely accepted garnishes.

Combining two recipes

Now the “dry chocolate Martini” simply combines the two approaches, replacing the “sweetener” in a Martini, the dry vermouth, by creme the cacao. The proportion thereof is dialed back (compared to the “candy-like” chocolate Martinis) to reasonable 6:2. Meyer, in the video above got to the conclusion that both 6:2 and 7:1 make interesting drinks, while 5:3 is a little sweet. He describes the 5:3 ratio as a decent dessert drink, but nothing else. With a 7:1 ratio of gin to creme de cacao, he calls it very similar to a regular Martini (as similar as it can get with one ingredient exchanged). I decided to test and present the “middle ground recipe” here, i. e. the 6:2 mix.

It bears to mention that I, just like Meyer, used “Dutch Cacao”, a premium creme de cacao by De Kuyper that is less sweet than other products on the market. So, in case you would like to replicate this drink using a sweeter style of creme de cacao, you should probably use even less (e. g., go for the 7:1 mix).

This drink is, unsurprisingly, really gin-forward. The boozyness is not at all unpleasant. I could even go as far as to say it is something I expect from a Martini 😉 The creme de cacao rounds off the flavor and provides a nice, noticeable chocolate undertone.

Once again: The flavor map

Now I talked a lot about how this drink is not as sweet as its famous cousin, which is definitely true. However, when you think about its flavor profile, it admittedly is kind of sweet. With gin as the base spirit, it is rather herbaceous and the combination, all in all, is quite heavy.

Of course, the choice of gin in this is a huge impact on the flavor. However, I do not think you can really ruin the drink by choosing the “wrong” gin. It will not be bad, just different. Also, switching out the “garnish” is something I may want to try in the future. For this article, I used a very non-functional bar of white chocolate. Replacing this by a lemon zest could add a refreshing twist to the drink. (And anyway, lemon and chocolate together are the bomb!)