Apple Martini

Until a recent trip to L.A. I was never a big cocktail drinker - red wine, beer and the occasional G&T was about it. We had a 24 hour visit to L.A. on our way through to visit some friends in other parts of America and Canada. My husband's cousin lives there and he took us on a whirlwind tour that started at the Beverly Hills Hotel for breakfast and finished at the W bar with cocktails and George Clooney (no really!)

At each of the bars we visited that night I was presented with a mammoth cocktail menu and was enthusiastically encouraged to try what ever I wanted. I proceeded to try some amazing (and very expensive) concoctions. The stand outs for the night were the raspberry Mojito I had at Palomino and the Apple Martinis at the Living Room at the W Hotel.

The Living Room looked like something on Las Vegas - the TV show - all low couches and even lower lighting. Very glamorous waitresses tried to chase of us reserved tables but the cocktails were divine. After about 3 Apple Martinis I wandered off to find the bathroom. Coming out of the bathroom - I swung open the door, stepped out and ran straight into someone coming around the corner. I looked up to apologise and realised I had literally bumped into George Clooney. He was grinning at me with his frighteningly white teeth and beautiful eyes. In an extremely sophisticated fashion, my jaw dropped and I ran away as fast as I could. Hmmm.

I actually emailed Palomino for their recipe and they were kind enough to share it with me. Unfortunately the type of raspberry rum they used is not available in Australia yet - so I haven't been able to make it just yet. I have managed to track down all the necessary ingredients for a wicked Apple Martini though. At the W they used DeKuyper Sour Apple Pucker - a bright green tart apple schnapps. I haven't been able to find this in Australia yet but I did find the very similar Sour Monkey Apple Sour from Dan Murphy's.

I modified the recipe slightly after a few tries - most of the recipes I tried were just too strong. I now make them so you can have a couple and not fall over.

Apple Martini

30mls Vodka
30mls Apple Sour
30mls Apple juice
A small green apple

Pour into a cocktail shaker half filled with ice.
Shake and strain into martini glasses.
Garnish with a slice of apple floated on top.

Voila! L.A. sophistication at home.

George Clooney
Martini
Cocktail