This elegant, classy cocktail is very decadent. It tastes more expensive than it costs, has a luxuriant mouthfeel, and evokes the feeling of drinking on a dark green divan in a snazzy speakeasy.
Equipment | No Equipment Needed |
Difficulty | Very Easy |
A different chocolate martini cocktail.
We were very torn when trying to decide what to call this cocktail. There aren't a lot of cocktails with cognac, so that didn't help us either. It is not very correct for any specific kind of drink, so we decided it was a chocolate martini cocktail for simplicity. Whatever kind of chocolatey and fruity mixed drink it is, it is really good! Flavorful and not overly sweet, this is a tasty treat for most palettes.
A chic cocktail for when you need to impress.
Hot date? Difficult mother-in-law? Dinner party? There are lots of times when you might need an impressive drink recipe in your back pocket. Especially if you want to make someone feel like you're mixing something top-shelf for them, or you have some good stuff lying around and want to make cognac cocktails or brandy mixed drinks. This romantic recipe is also a super luxurious recipe for Valentine's Day cocktails!
Which alcohol brands should I buy?
Cognac or Brandy: There will be a paragraph below this section discussing the difference between cognac and brandy and how to choose one to purchase. But for the sake of a short answer we recommend Remy Martin VSOP, or Hennessey VS/VSOP. This is a great recipe for a Hennessey cocktail!
Chocolate Liqueur: We really enjoy the brand Licor 43, but Mozart also makes a solid chocolate liquor. In a pinch you can use a dark creme de cacao, but it doesn't make as nice of a mouthfeel because it is much thinner than chocolate liquor. Also, be sure not to use white creme de cacao because it is clear and the cocktail will end up looking like diluted tea, not luxuriously chocolatey.
Coffee Liqueur: Kahlua is the most commonly used brand of coffee liqueur, so we use that. It is easy to find, a reasonable price, and a tasty product. Coffee liqueurs tend to all be in about the same price range, so the choice here will not dramatically affect your per cocktail price.
How to make simple syrup:
Simple syrup is made by dissolving one part sugar into one part hot water. For example you might combine 1/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup hot water. You can heat the water using the microwave, sauce pan, or kettle. After the sugar has fully dissolved allow the simple syrup to cool completely before use. If it is too warm it will melt the ice too quickly and water down the chocolate martini. If you plan to make several cocktails (for example; if you are having a party) take that into account and make enough simple syrup accordingly.
About store-bought simple syrup: While it is possible to buy bottles of premade simple syrup from liquor stores, I don't recommend doing it unless you just have tons of disposable income or no time whatsoever as it is pretty overpriced. Making it only takes about 3 minutes and is so much cheaper that it really isn't a product worth purchasing.
What is the difference between cognac and brandy?
"Brandy" is a generic, umbrella term, while "cognac" is a specific kind of brandy and must come from the Cognac region of France. Similar to how there are several varieties of sparkling wine but only sparkling wine from the Champagne region can be called Champagne. Or how thumbs are fingers, but not all fingers are thumbs, ha! There are also some stricter rules concerning the ingredients and distillation of Cognac.
Ultimately this is a great recipe for either cognac or brandy cocktails! You can use whichever you happen have on-hand. Neither is necessarily better for this mixed drink.
VS and VSOP
VS stands for Very Special and means that none of the brandy blended in the product has been aged fewer than two years. VSOP on the other hand stands for Very Superior Old Pale and indicates that no brandy blended into the product has been aged fewer than four years. Naturally, VSOP is more expensive and tends to be smoother for sipping.
Making a mix drink with brandy makes the difference between VS and VSOP less important. Once you start to mix it with chocolate liqueur and Kahlua the smoothness becomes a little less obvious. If you have VSOP it is ultimately a little better, but if you're trying to save money it's not enough of a difference to warrant splurging.
Money Saving Tips |
Use frozen raspberries instead of fresh to save some money. |
Don't use VSOP. You can read more about this in the note above. |
Make your own simple syrup from scratch rather than buying it. See the section on simple syrup above. |
Let's Begin:
Gather the ingredients. If using frozen raspberries you can thaw them ahead of time on the counter or in the fridge. Avoid thawing them in the microwave because if they are warm going into your cocktail they might make the ice melt faster and water down the drink. Watering this brandy cocktail down is your enemy because it ruins the silky mouth feel, so be aware and try to avoid doing so.
Put the 6-7 raspberries in your cocktail shaker or a glass for mixing and thoroughly mash them with a fork or muddler. You're trying to get the flavors and juices out, but it isn't rockets science, so don't worry about it too much. It should look like the picture above, well mashed, but not decimated.
Add 1 oz cognac or brandy, 1 oz chocolate liquor, 1 oz simple syrup, 1/2 oz coffee liquor, and a few ice cubes to the raspberries. Shake or stir the ingredients together until combined and cold. Don't shake or stir too long or else the ice will start to melt too much and will water down your cocktails. Get it cooled and move on right away.
Strain the mixture into a martini glass. If the strainer becomes clogged by the raspberry debris you can scoot the debris around with a fork to help it drain. You may also need to empty the solid bits out once or twice while straining, depending on the size of your strainer. If you're making several cocktails you can save the raspberry debris to make a nice smoothie later. (It may be very slightly boozy, just beware.)
Garnish with a few raspberries on a long toothpick. You can also choose to dribble a little raspberry syrup, muddled raspberry juice, or the juice released from frozen raspberries. Try to drip or drizzle the juice in a circle to make it look more artistic and intentional. If you to want to make the drips look like hearts: Place the tip of a toothpick in the chocolate martini about half an inch before each drop, then drag the toothpick straight through the drip until about an inch beyond.
Enjoy!
A note on using frozen raspberries:
One of the best ways to lower the cost of this brandy cocktail is to make it with frozen raspberries. Frozen raspberries come in large bags that can keep for a long time and can also be used in other recipes such as smoothies, making them a versatile and economic ingredient for this recipe. After thawing the raspberries for use in this mixed drink you might notice that they released some juice in their thawing container that can then be used to garnish the brandy cocktails.
Difficulties garnishing the cocktail when using frozen raspberries: The downside to using frozen raspberries is that they are not attractive garnish on a toothpick. With this in mind you can choose to not garnish the cocktail with the toothpick of raspberries and only use the juice dribbled in as garnish, or you can choose to purchase a limited quantity of fresh raspberries only for use as the garnish.
What to serve with this chocolate martini?
This chocolatey and fruity mixed drink would make a great after-dinner treat and would be very elegant served with a cheese platter or fruit selection or an attractive fruit or chocolate dessert. If you are serving this at a party then it would go well with classic finger foods such as charcuterie boards, hors d'oeuvres, canapes, and fresh fruit. If you need some more specific ideas might I suggest;
Tea Sandwiches
Mini Tarts
Pinwheel Sandwiches
Crostini's with Spread
Chocolate Truffles
Olives
Mixed Nuts
Spinach Puffs
Spring Rolls
Etc.
Try this chocolate cognac cocktail as an idea for cocktail parties, dinner parties, or for a quiet evening after work. This is also a solid date night recipe! And, as mentioned earlier, the chocolate and raspberry flavors would also work splendidly as a Valentines Day recipe for a decadent and romantic Valentine's Day drink. Serve it alongside chocolate covered strawberries for an especially romantic chocolatey experience.
Storage.
This drink really doesn't store well, you will just have to drink it! Oh no, tragedy!
Extra simple syrup will last in the fridge for 3-4 days. Simple syrup has a shorter shelf life than you would expect, but it is so cheap and easy to make that it isn't terrible if some of it goes to waste.
Fresh raspberries go bad shockingly fast. I swear, you just look at one the wrong way and the whole batch goes awry. So if you have fresh raspberries be sure to use them as soon as you can.
What about you?
It seems like lots of people have a date night recipe or two up their sleeve for a romantic evening in, or an impressive dish to showcase their skills. Do you have a recipe that helped you win someone's heart? Or that made your mother-in-law stop judging you so harshly? Or that impressed your dinner guests? What is your favorite date-night recipe to cook for your significant other? Tell us in the comments! Share your wisdom to those of us who could use the help!
Final thoughts:
This mixed drink was created by my husband on a whim when I wanted a raspberry themed cocktail and we were blown away by the results! Since then we've made it several times and have shared it with our friends who gave it much praise! And it's so simple to make, so we view it as a very successful drink.
With only a few ingredients and very basic skills anyone can easily master this elegant cognac cocktail recipe. Very few recipes yield a product that tastes so expensive compared to it's actual price. At nearly $4/cocktail is isn't exactly a cheap recipe, but a similar mixed drink with cognac at a restaurant or bar would cost upwards of $15-$17 or more depending on your location. And buying drinks from a restaurant or bar does nothing to improve your reputation as a mixologist as this drink does! So try your hand at mixing this delightful cocktail today!
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