Mintini: Summer Cocktail Week 9 (Adam & Michelle)

Mintini

We fulfilled our herb theme this week by utilizing our freshly planted chocolate mint.  Yes, there's really a chocolate mint plant and it's pretty awesome.  The leaves are a little smaller (see pic), some have a darker tint, and they release a distinctively chocolate version of the otherwise traditional minty aroma.

Mint makes a great garnish in a variety of summer cocktails but to really feature the flavor we went with an infusion.  I was surprised how well the vodka absorbed both the berry and chocolate mint flavors, creating something that could easily be sipped on its own or topped off with just a little club soda.

To infuse the vodka I used about 2/3 liter of Absolut, 12 ounces fresh raspberries and 8 sprigs of fresh chocolate mint.  Seal in an air-tight container and let rest for a week, stirring once or twice.  Pour the infusion through a fine strainer and smash the berries to release all the juice.  Keep chilled in the fridge.

Mintini Ingredients:
Raspberry Chocolate Mint Infused Vodka
Dove Chocolate Martini Mix
Irish Cream (used Merry's)
Fresh Chocolate Mint

For my (Adam's) mintini I simply used equal parts infused vodka and chocolate martini mix, shaken with ice to chill and strained into a mini martini glass.  Michelle thought the chocolate martini mix was a little watery and wanted something creamier, so for hers I used equal parts infused vodka, chocolate martini mix and irish cream with just a dash of chocolate syrup.  Garnish either with a small sprig of chocolate mint.

Side note: This was our first attempt at using Dove Chocolate Martini Mix.  We had an unopened bottle in the cupboard and this seemed like the perfect use for it.  We were both disappointed in how watery it is, which threw off the chocolate flavor just a little.  Think hot chocolate made with hot water instead of hot milk--just not the same.  Adding irish cream definitely helped bring the texture together but next time I'll try something different all together like chocolate liqueur.