# Red Vine Martini **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190 "2007-07-26T04:05:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/1 "2007-07-26T04:05:29Z")
What combination of liquors and liqueurs could I use to make a martini that tastes like Red Vines liquorice? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/2 "2007-07-26T04:45:44Z")
I would suggest cherry pucker and vodka, but fot the love of god don’t call it a martini, cause it’s not, it’s just a cocktail. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/3 "2007-07-26T04:49:58Z")
Remember that a fair amount of the flavor of Red Vines comes from the red food coloring, so you’d have to include that in addition to any liquor. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/4 "2007-07-26T04:56:29Z")
[QUOTE=Hunter Hawk] Remember that a fair amount of the flavor of Red Vines comes from the red food coloring, so you’d have to include that in addition to any liquor. [/QUOTE] Grenadine should do the trick. And I concur with \*\*bouv \*\*, who must indeed be a man of great class and discernment - a martini it ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/5 "2007-07-26T04:57:18Z")
I’d guess vodka, red sambuca, and bitters. The garnish would be, of course, a lace of Red Vine. Whatever you do, don’t attribute the drink to me. Personally, I stick with Irish whiskeys, neat, with occasional forays into Scotch, Bourbon, and the basic gin martini. I’ll admit to having mixed and enjoyed a few Vespers in celebration of the recent Bond flick (“Do you want that shaken or stirred?” “Do I look like I give a damn?”) but I like to roll clean, and it keeps the barman happy that he doesn’t have to scour out the drink tin afterward. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/6 "2007-07-26T05:08:42Z")
[QUOTE=Queen Bruin] Grenadine should do the trick. [/QUOTE] 😕 …oh, right. Yeah, any grenadine you can buy would probably do the trick. I make my own grenadine and drink at bars that make their own, so I’ve become used to grenadine that actually tastes good. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/7 "2007-07-26T05:27:14Z")
[QUOTE=Hunter Hawk] 😕 …oh, right. Yeah, any grenadine you can buy would probably do the trick. I make my own grenadine and drink at bars that make their own, so I’ve become used to grenadine that actually tastes good. [/QUOTE] How do you make grenadine? Juice some pomegranates and add simple syrup? ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/8 "2007-07-26T05:28:23Z")
[QUOTE=Hunter Hawk] 😕 …oh, right. Yeah, any grenadine you can buy would probably do the trick. I make my own grenadine and drink at bars that make their own, so I’ve become used to grenadine that actually tastes good. [/QUOTE] I recommended it only for the color, not the taste. Sorry to be unclear. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/9 "2007-07-26T05:38:15Z")
[QUOTE=SaintCad] How do you make grenadine? Juice some pomegranates and add simple syrup? [/QUOTE] Pretty much. There are a number of different recipes, but I just juice some pomegranates, heat the juice, add sugar to form a syrup, dump it into a bottle, add some vodka to help preserve it, and stick it in the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/10 "2007-07-26T08:43:21Z")
So vodka (I’m thinking Smirnoff vanilla), cherry liqueur (would kirsh work?) and grenadine. Anything else. Bear in mind that I hate the taste of red liquorice (this is for my girlfriend) so I’m not an expert on its taste. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/11 "2007-07-26T09:25:33Z")
_Slightly deaf bartender:_ You say you want a red _wine_ martini? ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/12 "2007-07-27T00:32:09Z")
Take some red vines, steep them in Vodka for 6 months, use the Vodka in a standard martini. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/13 "2007-07-27T01:02:10Z")
[QUOTE=Shalmanese] Take some red vines, steep them in Vodka for 6 months, use the Vodka in a standard martini. [/QUOTE] If there’s vodka in it, it’s not a standard martini… ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/14 "2007-07-27T02:35:07Z")
:rolleyes: Oh shit, not this again. It’s a _vodka_ martini, ok? Can we just leave it at that? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/15 "2007-07-27T03:03:36Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] :rolleyes: Oh shit, not this again. It’s a _vodka_ martini, ok? Can we just leave it at that? [/QUOTE] “Shaken or stirred?” “Do I look like I give a damn?” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/16 "2007-07-27T05:18:32Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] If there’s vodka in it, it’s not a standard martini… [/QUOTE] If there’s red vines in it, it’s not a standard martini… ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-vine-martini/413190/17 "2007-07-27T05:42:08Z")
[QUOTE=SaintCad] So vodka (I’m thinking Smirnoff vanilla), cherry liqueur (would kirsh work?) and grenadine. Anything else. Bear in mind that I hate the taste of red liquorice (this is for my girlfriend) so I’m not an expert on its taste. [/QUOTE] No, kirschwasser wouldn’t work. It’s a dry brandy. Cheap-ass way: Cherry pucker and vodka, as **bouv** suggested. Another possible way: Chokecherry syrup and vodka.