I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to try a couple of recipes for Halloween: a dessert and a cocktail. With the dessert done, all that’s left is the drink. Like the Beeswax-Infused Parsnip Candle Cakes recipe, this Full Moon Martini isn’t necessarily a Halloween drink, but I thought it fit the theme. It also promises to be easy to make, which is perfect for a Halloween party. Or any party, really, but I’m sticking with the theme. So let’s find out if it tastes as good as it looks!
The perfect martini recipe for entertaining and so easy to make!
The Ingredients
This recipe starts with a list of needed equipment, and I appreciate that! I was able to bundle it in with my ingredient shopping, and that made it so convenient.
And it turned out that I had all the equipment needed but only the sugar as far as ingredients. But that was no problem. A quick trip to the liquor store for a bottle of vodka and a stop for the coconut cream and blackberries, and I was ready to go. Or freeze. The ice cubes have to be made first.
In between shopping for the ingredients and making this recipe, I found some white sparkling sugar sprinkles in my pantry. I decided to use them instead of plain sugar because they had a really pretty glittery look.
The Process
This recipe is short, but it has 2 parts: The ice and the cocktail. Obviously, I had to start with the ice, and I did it the day before I planned to make the cocktail. It says you can use it after 5-6 hours, so it would have been possible to make the ice and cocktail on the same day if I started it early enough. I’m just not that ambitious in the morning.
Making the “Full Moon” Ice Spheres
I try to use large ice cubes in my cocktails because they melt slower than the wedges my ice maker dispenses (it really makes a difference!). This led me to collect several ice trays, so I had spherical ice molds on hand—small and large. In sports terms, my large spherical ice molds are about the size of a tennis, lacrosse, or billiard ball. The small spherical ice mold is about the size of a golf ball.
I chose the smaller size ice sphere mold for this cocktail. It makes 6 spheres at once, so I knew I would have plenty for photos. I have used this particular mold a few times and have learned from my mistakes. Tip: With this mold, it’s key to make sure the top and bottom are snapped together securely with no gaps between the two.
Making the ice was a breeze, but I did have to make some extra coconut/water mixture to fill the entire tray. I’d say about 1.5 X the recipe. Tip: Mix the coconut milk and water in a measuring cup so it’s easy to pour into the ice mold.
The mold came with a tiny funnel, so filling the spheres wasn’t difficult at all. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell how full they were getting until they overflowed a little. I would have preferred it to be neater, but I decided it wasn’t a big deal and froze the mold overnight.
Tip: Don’t worry if it doesn’t look like each sphere is filled all the way to the top. The liquid will expand as it freezes and fills in the divot.
Making the Full Moon Martini Cocktail
I started my Full Moon Martini by rimming a champagne saucer with sugar. As mentioned above, I had planned on regular sugar and switched to sparkling sprinkles when I realized I had them. I’m glad I did because they were very pretty.
Also, I didn’t follow the instructions to the letter for this part. I decided to pour some water into a small saucer and the sprinkles into another. Then I dipped the rim of the glass in the water and then the sugar. Then placed the glass aside (still upside down) so it could dry a touch while I mixed the cocktail.
Making my Full Moon Martini was fast! Just shake the vodka with some ice in a cocktail shaker, pour it into a coupe glass, and garnish it with an ice sphere and blackberries. That part took less than a minute.
The only hold-up was the time it took to remove all 6 ice spheres from the mold. They seemed to stick despite the fact that the mold is made of silicone. I had to work to get them out.
Once they were out, the spheres has a seam. I managed to remove most of them by rolling the seam a few times on a cutting board. It wasn’t perfect but it did the job.
Here’s how my time broke down for the ice and cocktail:
- 4 minutes to make the ice
- 6 hours to freeze (I froze them overnight)
- 5 minutes to make the cocktail (includes removing ice from the mold)
- 6 hours 9 minutes
Although I froze the ice overnight, I’m using the maximum time listed so I can compare my times to the recipe. It lists a total of 6 hours and 15 minutes, and I was a little under that.
