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The watermelon martini tastes like summer! This festive vodka cocktail is easy to make and full of refreshing sweet flavor.

Watermelon martini
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Here’s a summer drink that’s full of big fruity flavor: the Watermelon Martini! This vodka martini is all about the watermelon, with a pure, refreshing flavor. It’s just sweet enough to let the fruit shine through, and it goes down pretty easy. Add that watermelon wedge garnish and it’s a great signature drink for a dinner party, or ideal for sipping by the pool. Here’s how to make this tasty cousin of the martini…that’s really not a martini at all.

What’s in a watermelon martini?

The watermelon martini is a flavored vodka martini. It’s actually more like a Cosmo than a dry martini! Made with gin and dry vermouth, the classic version sometimes is made with vodka. Over time, the vodka version became a blank slate for adding all sorts of fruity variations. Just serve it in a martini glass and it’s a martini!

Every bartender has their own way of making this drink. Here are the the ingredients in this watermelon martini:

  • Watermelon
  • Mint
  • Vodka
  • Cointreau
  • Lime juice
  • Simple syrup (optional)

You might think this drink would taste intensely sweet, like a watermelon jolly rancher. Instead, this cocktail is just sweet enough: which lets the watermelon flavor shine through beautifully.

Watermelon martini

How to make a watermelon martini (basic steps)

The watermelon martini is easy to make. All you’ll need is a cocktail shaker and a martini glass. Here are the basic steps (or jump to the recipe):

  1. Muddle: Place the watermelon and mint in the cocktail shaker and muddle them (gently mash) to release the juices.
  2. Shake: Add the vodka, Cointreau, lime juice, and simple syrup (if using) to the cocktail shaker. Shake for 15 seconds until cold.
  3. Strain: Strain the drink into a glass and serve!

Use watermelon or watermelon juice

You can make this drink using watermelon or watermelon juice! Either way, here’s the most important thing: make sure you use a ripe watermelon. Only make this drink during watermelon season when you know you can find a bright red, juicy fruit. Here are a few notes on chopped watermelon vs watermelon juice:

  • Watermelon is so easy to use: just cube it up and throw it in! You’ll muddle it so that it becomes a juice right in the cocktail shaker.
  • Watermelon juice is easy to whip up in advance as a big jar. It’s nice for when you’re entertaining, and you can use it for other watermelon cocktails like this Watermelon Vodka Cocktail or Watermelon Gin Cocktail.
Watermelon

All about Cointreau (plus a substitute)

Cointreau is an orange liqueur with a beautiful orange perfume flavor. It’s higher quality than Triple Sec, with a more robust and balanced flavor. It’s most well known for being used in cocktails like the Classic Margarita. If you buy a bottle, you’ll have lots to make with it: try all our Best Cointreau Drinks!

If you don’t have a bottle of Cointreau for this watermelon martini, you can substitute any orange liqueur. You could try Triple Sec, or a higher end liqueur like Grand Marnier.

More flavored vodka martini recipes

Flavored martinis are a modern invention: built on the vodka martini. Most of them drop the vermouth…so they’re hardly a martini at all! Here are some of our favorite flavored martini recipes:

How to make a watermelon martini

When to serve a watermelon martini

The watermelon martini is festive and stunning, perfect for summer entertaining! Serve it as a:

  • Summer drink
  • Happy hour drink
  • Dinner party drink
  • Girls night drink
  • Pool party drink
  • Cocktail hour drink
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Perfect Watermelon Martini

Watermelon martini
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4 from 1 review

The watermelon martini tastes like summer! This festive vodka cocktail is easy to make and full of refreshing sweet flavor.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 drink 1x
  • Category: Drink
  • Method: Shaken
  • Cuisine: Cocktails
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • ½ cup chopped watermelon (or ¼ cup watermelon juice)
  • 2 large mint leaves
  • 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) vodka
  • ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) Cointreau
  • ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon simple syrup
  • For the garnish: small watermelon wedge

Instructions

  1. Chop the watermelon. Add the melon and mint to a cocktail shaker. Muddle (gently mash) them with a cocktail muddler or wooden spoon to release the juices. (If you’re using watermelon juice, simply muddle the mint first.)
  2. Add the vodka, Cointreau, lime juice and simple syrup. Fill with ice and shake until cold.
  3. Strain the drink into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a small watermelon wedge, if desired.

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More watermelon drinks

Love watermelon? Here are some of the best watermelon drink ideas to try while the season is ripe:

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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1 Comment

  1. Lily says:

    Very good