Pumpkin Spice Martini

Say hello to the ultimate cozy fall cocktail! This delectable, creamy pumpkin spice martini is made with just 3 ingredients and a cinnamon sugar rim that guarantees to impress at your next holiday party.

I was sitting with dear old hubby at the bar of a much loved restaurant because we were celebrating my birthday and the bartender had a bunch of new drinks for the fall season that he was making for the workers to taste.

The pumpkin spice martini was one of the new drinks and I listened to what the workers said about it. “Too sweet.” “A little weird.” “I don’t like it.” There was one person who did like it.

I really wanted to ask for a little sample, but I didn’t have the nerve.

I watched how the bartender made it to see how much it differed from my version of this delightful and festive cocktail. He put real pumpkin puree or maybe it was pumpkin pie filling in it.  In my opinion, that was his mistake. The cocktail looked ‘heavy’ and cloying. I still would have loved a sample though.

This is a perfect fall cocktail and is fun to serve at a halloween party, or on Thanksgiving.

Can’t get enough of pumpkin? You may want to pair this cocktail with my pumpkin cheesecake bread! Or try my pumpkin white Russian.

Does the cocktail have a bold pumpkin flavor?

No, it has a mild flavor. The liqueur I used isn’t heavy on the pumpkin and there is a nice balance of spices in it. I like that it’s mild.

Why? Because I do not like pumpkin spice lattes, so if my pumpkin spice martini tasted like that, I would not be a happy camper.

Helpful tips

• Love the look of this cocktail, but can’t find pumpkin spice liqueur? There’s a bunch of great pumpkin liqueurs out there – Baileys would be top of list. A splash of Rumchata is also a fun addition to the pumpkin liqueur.
• The beauty of this cocktail is that by switching up vodka flavors you can change the taste in fun and different ways. So, you can substitute the vanilla vodka with: caramel vodka, plain vodka, cinnamon churros vodka (which is a fun one).
• Want to cut the calories a little? Use half and half or milk instead of the light cream.
• I garnish this cocktail with cinnamon and sugar but you could also sprinkle some ground nutmeg on top, substitute the cinnamon/sugar mixture with pumpkin pie spice, place a cinnamon stick in it, add a dollop of whipped cream on top, or wet the rim and roll or dip it some crushed graham cracker crumbs.

How to make a pumpkin martini

Pre-step

Fill cocktail shaker halfway with ice and gather a measuring glass and martini glasses.

After measuring the ingredients, add them to the to the cocktail shaker.

Step one

Gather the ingredients: pumpkin pie cream liqueur, vanilla vodka and light cream.

Step two

Measure 4 ounces pumpkin spice cream liqueur. (A)

Step three

Measure 3 ounces vanilla vodka. (B)

Step four

Measure 3 ounces light cream. (C)

Step five

Wet the rims of the glass with some apple cider or simple syrup, place each glass rim in cinnamon sugar mixture. Shake off excess and set glasses aside. (D)

Step six

Cap the shaker and shake the pumpkin pie martini for 20 seconds. Strain, divide and pour the contents of the shaker equally between the two martini glasses.

The vertical view.

And the overhead.

I hope you enjoyed this pumpkin martini recipe!

What is your favorite holiday cocktail? One of mine is the apple butter old fashioned. Please leave me a comment as I’d love to know.

Other popular martinis

• Cucumber mint
• Dirty vodka
• Witches Brew

And as always, may all your drinks/dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below.  I love hearing from you!  You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!