WRRV's 12 Days of Cocktails: The Salted Caramel Chocolate Apple Martini

Another day, another cocktail. How about a martini? No, not a James Bond type of martini with the olives, but one that could be your dessert.

WRRV's 12 Days of Cocktails continues on Day 9 with a martini. This one comes with help from our friends at Hudson Valley Distillers, they call it "The SCCAM": Salted Caramel Chocolate Apple Martini

Ingredients:

1.5 oz. Spirits Grove Vodka
Salted Chocolate Milk (recipe below)
Caramel Sauce (recipe below)

Combine Spirits Grove Vodka and salted chocolate milk into a shaker with ice. Shake or stir. Strain into a cocktail glass rimmed with salt and caramel.

In its basic form, a martini is a cocktail that has a base of either gin or vodka with dry vermouth. The ratio of spirit to vermouth is usually four parts spirit to one part vermouth. Plus, as an added bonus, you get to drink it out of a fancy glass.

Want to order a martini? First you have to choose gin or vodka. Then, you have to figure out if you want it dry. If so, you want very little vermouth in it. Order it wet and it will have a bit more vermouth. Order it dirty and you will get some olive juice mixed in.

Most often, martinis will come with an olive garnish. Don't like olives? You can order a Gibson and it will be garnished with cocktail onions. Don't care for either? Ask for a martini with a twist.

So you want to talk about shaken or stirred? It totally comes down to your preference. I prefer to have them shaken, because I like all of those little shards of ice that develop in the spirit when it is shaken and then poured into my glass.

If you like your cocktails clearer or prefer your martini with gin, you might ask for it to be stirred. This is supposedly more gentle to the gin. (How can you bruise gin? I have no idea, but apparently it's a thing.) The liquor remains crystal clear in the glass where it can be a bit cloudy if you shake it.

More of WRRV's 12 Days of Cocktails

My advice? If you want to try them, have a conversation with your bartender. They can help guide you as to which one you should try first. Cheers!

To make salted chocolate milk, try out this recipe from foodnetwork.com

1/2 cup Sugar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
½ Teaspoon vanilla extract
cold milk
Salt to taste

Make the chocolate syrup: Combine the sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan.

Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Let cool completely.

When ready to make the milk, use about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the chocolate syrup stirred into 1 1/2 cups of milk. Then add a generous pinch of salt. Stir the milk until the syrup and salt dissolve.

To make caramel sauce, here's another from foodnetwork.com

1 packed cup brown sugar
1/2 cup half-and-half
4 tablespoons butter
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Mix the brown sugar, heavy cream, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook while whisking gently for five to to seven minutes, until it gets thicker.

Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further.

Turn off the heat, cool slightly and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold.