Salted Caramel Martini Recipe - The Spruce Eats

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Salted Caramel Martini By Colleen Graham Colleen Graham Writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks. Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process Updated on 08/3/25 Tested by Mary Jo Romano (27) Save Write a Review Print Close

Prep: 5 mins Cook: 0 mins Freezing:: 25 mins Total: 30 mins Serving: 1 serving Yield: 1 cocktail 27 ratings Write a Review Add a comment SaveRecipe

• With only 16 percent alcohol, this martini is lighter than most traditional martinis.
• This version uses vanilla vodka, caramel syrup, and Irish cream for a perfectly balanced flavor.
• Easily create a fun caramel web design for a visually appealing cocktail.

Sweet and delicious, it's hard to resist a salted caramel martini. This simple cocktail recipe offers the same salty-sweet taste of the candy, which is a brilliant contrast from the average dessert drink.

With most cocktails, the garnish is optional, but here it completes the experience. The rim is adorned with caramel syrup and just enough salt to make each sip interesting. Avoid salting the rim as heavily as you would a margarita—just a touch will do. You can also drizzle caramel into the glass and add a soft caramel candy to the rim for an even more indulgent experience.

When that foundation is nice and frozen, you'll add the drink. It's an easy mix of vanilla vodka, caramel syrup, and Irish cream. While it may seem like a lot of syrup, some of that will be lost while measuring it out, so the drink ends up perfectly balanced.

How Strong Is a Salted Caramel Martini?

As far as martinis go, this one is lightweight. When made with 70-proof vanilla vodka (the standard for flavored vodkas), the salted caramel martini shakes up to about 16 percent ABV (32 proof). That's just slightly stronger than a glass of wine.

How to Properly Shake a Cocktail

Tips for Making Salted Caramel Martini Recipe

• Work quickly - Work quickly while decorating the glass. Have a spot ready in the freezer so you can place the glass in it before the caramel runs too much.
• Be efficient -The rim and caramel drizzle can be done in advance; a minimum of 10 to 20 minutes is perfect. The colder the caramel is, the longer it will stay frozen while you're drinking the martini.
• You can use any caramel syrup - Use caramel syrup, not sauce because it's too thick. Salted caramel syrup is a good choice if you want to skip the salt rim. The variety intended as an ice cream topping will be less runny than syrups used for flavoring coffee and a better choice for the garnish. A homemade caramel sauce gives you a little more control of the consistency.
• How to neatly pour caramel - Pouring caramel—whether from a bottle or spoon—can be inconsistent. To make thin strings in the glass, hold the caramel about arm's length above the glass and let the caramel begin to drip. Once the stream is steady, move your glass under the stream to create a web design. It can be messy, so do it over the sink.
• Clean up - To clean caramel out of the glass when the drink is gone, run it under hot water while spinning the glass by the stem. It will dissolve and you can then clean the glass as usual.

What You'll Need to Make This Salted Caramel Martini A Great Cocktail Jigger An Elegant Martini Glass A Sleek Cocktail Shaker

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“An absolutely delicious and satisfying dessert martini. The name says it all, a salted caramel celebration in a glass. My partner commented ‘oh wow’ when taking his first sip. You will too. Freeze the martini glass and refrigerate the caramel syrup for best results with decorating the glass.” —Mary Jo Romano

A Note From Our Recipe Tester Keep Screen Awake

• 1 ounce caramel syrup, more for rim

• Kosher or sea salt, for rimming

• 1 1/2 ounces vanilla vodka

• 2 ounces Irish cream liqueur

• Soft caramel candy, for garnish

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Freeze the glasses for 10 minutes before rimming with caramel syrup. This will help prevent the syrup from running down the glass too quickly.

   To rim the cocktail glass, begin by rolling the rim in a shallow dish of caramel syrup.

3. Roll the glass in a dish of kosher or sea salt, coating it lightly all the way around.

4. If you want to drizzle caramel inside the glass, hold it upright over the sink to catch any caramel drips. Lightly drizzle ounce caramel syrup webbing inside the glass. Immediately place the glass in the freezer so the caramel sets up while you mix the drink.

5. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, pour 1 1/2 ounces vanilla vodka, 2 ounces Irish cream liqueur, and 1 ounce of caramel syrup.

6. Shake well.

7. Remove the glass from the freezer and strain the drink into it.

8. Garnish with caramel candy. Serve and enjoy.

Feeling Adventurous? Try This:

• Plain vodka - Unflavored vodka works just as well as vanilla vodka for a less sweet drink.
• More caramel flavor - Ramp up the caramel by pouring a caramel vodka instead of vanilla. Give it even more flavor with salted caramel moonshine. For either substitution, cut the caramel syrup in half to maintain balance.
• No caramel syrup, no problem - Butterscotch schnapps is a good substitute for caramel syrup.
• No Irish cream, no problem - RumChata and other cream liqueurs can be used instead of Irish cream. You can also replace it with milk, half and half, or a dairy alternative—almond milk is a perfect fit for this drink.

14 Dessert Cocktail Recipes

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
409	Calories
1g	Fat
48g	Carbs
1g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label ×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories	409
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g	1%
Saturated Fat 0g	2%
Cholesterol 1mg	0%
Sodium 1385mg	60%
Total Carbohydrate 48g	18%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Total Sugars 47g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg	1%
Calcium 29mg	2%
Iron 0mg	0%
Potassium 62mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

• martini
• salted caramel
• dessert
• american

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