The Bloody Carrie (Raspberry Martini)

"Bloody Carrie" Martini raspberry martini.

Tonight's experiment: we give you the "Bloody Carrie" (thanks to Heidi Randall for the name):

• 3 oz Gin (Tanqueray)
• 1 oz Raspberry Syrup
• Twist of lemon
• Shake over ice then pour

I hate to admit this but tonight's recipe was the result of cleaning out my refrigerator. A bottle of Cascade Conserves brand Willamette Red Raspberry Syrup has sat untouched for probably 10 years. The syrup is supposed to be great for pancakes and on top of vanilla ice cream. Sadly, those are not things that I have at home very often. So it was headed for the trash. But I looked for an expiration date on the bottle and there was none. The seal had never been broken. I figured gin should kill any bugs if there were any!

Despite these dubious beginnings, I think it created an incredible drink. Temperatures in San Jose were in the 90's (33+C). The day beckoned for something cool, crisp and refreshing.

Our mixer--Cascade Conserves Willamette Red Raspberry Syrup.

Select an appropriate cocktail glass - Seneca leaded crystal in this case.

We're pouring Tanqueray tonight.

About this much gin.

The raspberry gave a nice red hue as it was poured. 

Add syrup until the color and taste seem right.

Pour the contents of the glass into a shaker with ice and shake.

When the sides of the shaker are nice and cold, pour the contents back into the glass.

Bloody Carrie Martini with gin & raspberry syrup.

I ended up adding some more syrup to the mix, increasing my original dose from about 1/2 ounce to a full ounce or maybe even a bit more. This particular syrup is a natural raspberry puree with very little added sugar (75% fruit.) So at 1/2 ounce there was just a hint of flavor and not much sweetness. At a full ounce I could taste the fruit and the drink remained crisp and refreshing. The color went from a something that looked like pink grapefruit at 1/2 ounce of syrup to something that looked like a blood orange at a little over an ounce of syrup.
 

Bloody Carrie Martini

Martini Glasses

The best martini glasses are not martini glasses. They were originally designed one or two centuries ago as champagne or sherbet glasses and were adopted as a cocktail glass in the early 1900s.

My favorites are Seneca cut crystal. The Seneca Glass Company existed from 1892 to 1983 and made crystal for the White House, the rich and celebrities. If you want Seneca crystal today you will have to search places like eBay and Replacements Ltd. Try search terms "champagne" and "sherbet" in addition to "cocktail." The champagne stem is often slightly taller than the sherbet stem and larger than the "cocktail" glass. Either can work but I prefer what I think of as the classic martini glass with longer stems and a triangular profile. Even so, some of the martini glasses in my collection have curved sides, shorter stems and even no stem but always a dramatic form.

Photo of Seneca Glass Co. Richelieu stemware
shamelessly stolen from jha on CollectorsWeekly.com

Photo of Seneca Glass Co. Richelieu stemware
shamelessly stolen from jha on CollectorsWeekly.com

Links to Seneca Martini Glasses at Replacements Ltd.:

Despite all the images and links on this page, I don't have a financial relationship with Replacements, Ltd. However I've bought a lot of crystal from them. They are a great source. When they have a sale, you can buy the finest cut crystal for about the same price as cheap glass anywhere else.