A Couple Cooks

Pumpkin Martini

November 04, 2021

The Pumpkin Martini recipe is a stunning fall cocktail! It’s cozy and creamy, with pumpkin pie spice and a crunchy graham cracker rim.

Pumpkin Martini

Is it fall drink season? Good, because we’ve got the perfect cocktail to add to your repertoire: the Pumpkin Martini! It’s creamy, it’s cozy pie spiced, and it’s made with real pumpkin for the best natural flavor. Even better, coat the glass rim in crushed graham crackers and you get a hint of crunchy sweet in each sip! This is the best cocktail for impressing your friends for any fall occasion. Better yet: serve it up as a Pumpkin Pie Martini topped with whipped cream!

What’s in a Pumpkin Martini?

The Pumpkin Martini is an autumnal spin on the flavored vodka martini using pumpkin flavors. There are many ways to achieve the flavors of the season, like pumpkin spice syrup or pumpkin liqueur. But for our recipe, we wanted to use the natural flavors: real pumpkin and pumpkin spice! It’s an ideal drink for Halloween or Thanksgiving, or any fall gathering. Here’s what you’ll need for this Pumpkin Martini recipe:

  • Vodka
  • Heavy cream (or coconut milk)
  • Pure maple syrup
  • Canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • Pumpkin pie spice (purchased or homemade)
  • Vanilla extract
  • Graham crackers, for the rim
Pumpkin Pie Martini recipe

Prepping the graham cracker rim

The best part of this Pumpkin Martini recipe? The graham cracker rim! Glass rims aren’t just for decoration: they add an important pop of flavor and texture to each sip. Here the graham cracker crumbs add just the right hint of sweetness and crunch. It takes a few minutes to do, but it’s absolutely worth it. Here’s how to do it:

  • Crush the graham crackers and add to a plate. You can simply use your fingers to crush them, or use the bottom of a jar or can.
  • Add a pool of maple syrup to another plate. It doesn’t have to be much! This is the glue that will hold on the cracker crumbs.
  • Place the outer edge of the glass in the maple and rotate. Hold the position of the glass constant and just rotate the stem so you get an even coating.
  • Place the rim in the cracker crumbs and rotate. Then, do the same thing in the cracker crumbs! The maple syrup will glue the crumbs to the rim.

How to make a Pumpkin Martini: a few tips!

All you need to do to make a Pumpkin Pie Martini? Once you’ve got the glass rim prepared, it’s so easy. Shake up those ingredients and pour them in the prepared glass! But here are a few tips to review before you jump to the recipe:

  • Customize the sweetness to taste. We like this Pumpkin Martini with ½ ounce maple syrup, which makes it a beautifully balanced drink. With the the graham cracker crust, it’s sweet enough for us! But if you prefer sweet drinks, use either ¾ ounce (for a sweet drink) or 1 ounce (for a very sweet drink).
  • Don’t have pure maple syrup? This recipe uses pure maple syrup, not the synthetic kind. You can substitute honey or simple syrup if you like: or even better, make a batch of Brown Sugar Syrup! It takes just 5 minutes and all you need is brown sugar.
Pumpkin spice martini recipe

Variation: make it a Pumpkin Pie Martini

Want to make this Pumpkin Martini into a Pumpkin Pie Martini? Simply add whipped cream! Adding a dollop of whipped cream takes it to over-the-top dessert drink status. Here are a few homemade whipped cream recipes to try:

Make it dairy free or vegan

Want to make this Pumpkin Martini dairy free? All you have to do is substitute full-fat coconut milk for the heavy cream! It comes out with a slight coconut flavor, but it’s not overwhelming. The coconut fat stands in beautifully for the dairy fat. (Don’t use something like cream of coconut or it will come out too sweet!)

And that’s it! Let us know what you think of this Pumpkin Spice Martini in the comments below.

Pumpkin martini recipe

More pumpkin recipes

Love pumpkin? If you’re here for it this season, here are some the top pumpkin recipes and pumpkin drinks to try:

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Pumpkin pie martini

Pumpkin Martini

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 drink
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

The Pumpkin Martini recipe is a stunning fall cocktail! It’s cozy and creamy, with pumpkin pie spice and a crunchy graham cracker rim.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces* vodka
  • ½ ounce heavy cream (or coconut milk, for vegan)
  • ½ ounce (to 1 ounce**) pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
  • ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Graham crackers, for the rim

Instructions

  1. Prepare the rim: Crush a graham cracker with your fingers, and place it on a plate. On another plate, add a small pool of maple syrup. Run the rim of a martini glass in the maple syrup first, rotating the glass so the rim is evenly coated. Then roll the rim in the crushed graham crackers until evenly coated.
  2. Shake the drink: Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add a handful of ice and shake until cold. Strain the drink into the prepared martini glass.

Notes

*To convert to tablespoons, 1 ounce = 2 tablespoons.

**½ ounce maple syrup makes a balanced drink (and you’ll still get sweetness from the cracker rim). Use ¾ or 1 ounce maple syrup if you like a very sweet drink. If you don’t have pure maple syrup, try homemade Brown Sugar Syrup (it takes just 5 minutes).

  • Category: Drink
  • Method: Shaken
  • Cuisine: Cocktails

Keywords: Pumpkin martini, pumpkin pie martini, pumpkin martini recipe, pumpkin spice martini

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

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