Lychee Martini Recipe (September 2026): The Best Sweet, Floral Cocktail

Few cocktails turn heads quite like a lychee martini. That blush-pink pour, the two skewered fruits resting on the rim, the first sip that lands somewhere between a peeled grape and a rose petal — it is the kind of drink that makes a Tuesday dinner feel like an occasion. This lychee martini recipe is the one I have sharpened over years of home bartending, dozens of dinner parties, and more than a few side-by-side taste tests against restaurant versions. It uses four core ingredients you can keep in your pantry year-round, takes about five minutes from start to sip, and lands at a bar-quality result without any specialized technique.

If you have ever ordered a lychee martini at a place like Nobu and wondered how to recreate that exact floral, spirit-forward balance at home, you are in the right spot. I will walk you through the classic build first, then show you every worthwhile variation I have tested — including a Nobu-inspired copycat, a low-sugar option, metric measurements for international readers, and the optional lychee liqueur (Kwai Feh or Soho) that professional bartenders swear by. By the end, you will have a cocktail you can confidently pour for guests or enjoy solo on a warm evening.

One quick note before we start: every measurement below appears in both ounces and milliliters, so whether you are working with a jigger or a metric measuring tool, you are covered. This is an easy cocktail recipe, but the small details — chilling the glass, using real ice cubes, adding that half ounce of fresh lime — are what separate a passable drink from one that genuinely tastes like it came from a great bar.

What Is a Lychee Martini?

A lychee martini is a vodka-based cocktail built around lychee fruit and its sweet syrup, balanced with a splash of dry vermouth (or orange liqueur), a squeeze of fresh citrus, and ice. It gets shaken or stirred until well-chilled, strained into a frosty martini glass, and finished with two or three canned lychees on a cocktail pick. The flavor is sweet, floral, and faintly tropical, with an ABV hovering around 20 percent — strong enough to feel like a real cocktail, soft enough to sip slowly.

Think of it as the grown-up cousin of the Cosmopolitan: same glossy appeal, but with a far more interesting flavor profile. Where a Cosmo leans sharp and cranberry-tart, the lychee martini leans aromatic and perfumed, with a clean vodka backbone that lets the fruit lead. It is the kind of drink that works equally well alongside a sushi platter, a plate of dumplings, or a slice of coconut cake — and once you have the basic ratio locked in, it becomes one of the most reliable cocktails in your home repertoire.

Quick-Glance Recipe Card

• Total time: 5 minutes
• Difficulty: Beginner-friendly
• Glassware: Martini (V-shape), coupe, or Nick and Nora
• Method: Shake (or stir if you prefer spirit-forward)
• Servings: 1 cocktail
• Calorie estimate: Roughly 200 to 260 per drink
• ABV: Approximately 20 percent
• Best with: Sushi, dumplings, fruit-forward desserts

A Quick Note on Where This Drink Came From

Most recipe posts skip the backstory entirely, but the lychee martini actually has a documented history worth knowing. The drink surfaced in early-1990s New York City, and credit is disputed between a midtown Korean restaurant called Clay and Decibel, a Japanese sake bar on the Lower East Side. Either way, it arrived alongside other fruity era-defining cocktails like the Cosmopolitan and the Appletini, and it quickly became a fixture at glossy Asian-fusion destinations such as Tao, Ruby Foo’s, and Nobu.

For a long stretch the lychee martini got dismissed as a sugary relic of that era — a drink more associated with turn-of-the-millennium cocktail menus than with serious bartending. That reputation has shifted in recent years. A new generation of Asian-American bartenders has reclaimed and rebuilt the cocktail using fresh fruit, sake, lychee liqueur, and regional spirits, which is a big part of why the drink is having such a strong moment again right now. It shows up on craft menus, in Reddit cocktail threads, and in home bars across the country.

Why You’ll Love This Lychee Martini Recipe

• It is genuinely fast. Five minutes from freezer to first sip, with no special equipment beyond a shaker and a strainer.
• It runs on pantry staples. A can of lychees in syrup sits shelf-stable indefinitely, ready whenever the mood strikes.
• It is beginner-friendly but bar-grade. No flame, no foaming agents, no hard-to-source ingredients — just a clean pour that tastes professional.
• It scales effortlessly. Make one for yourself or multiply the ratio into a pitcher for a dinner party.
• It pairs beautifully with food. Sushi, spring rolls, dumplings, coconut shrimp, even a wedge of brie — the floral sweetness complements a wide range of dishes.

Lychee Fruit 101 (What You’re Actually Tasting)

The lychee is the heart of this cocktail, and it is unlike anything else in the produce aisle. Lychee (Litchi chinensis) is the sole member of its genus in the soapberry family, prized for a sweet, mildly tart flavor and a distinctive floral aroma that most people describe as rose-like. The taste lands somewhere between a peeled grape and a slightly perfumed pear, with a clean watermelon-rind finish. There is genuinely nothing else that matches it.

You will encounter lychee in four main forms behind the bar:

• Fresh — Pinkish-red, knobbly shell, in season roughly June through August. The best flavor but the most effort, since each fruit needs peeling and pitting.
• Canned in syrup — Peeled, pitted, and swimming in sweet liquid. The pantry MVP for this recipe. Use both the fruit and the syrup.
• Lychee juice or puree — Less sweet than canned syrup and easier to control. Puree gives a thicker, more textural drink.
• Lychee liqueur (Soho, Kwai Feh) — Boozy and intensely flavored. An optional flavor booster that professional bartenders reach for often.

If you spot fresh lychees at an Asian grocer in midsummer, absolutely grab them — but for year-round reliability, canned lychees in syrup are the workhorse most home bartenders lean on, and they are what this recipe is built around.

Ingredients for the Best Lychee Martini

This is the version I make most often at home — clean, balanced, and never cloyingly sweet. Measurements appear in both ounces and milliliters so you can work with whatever tools you have on hand.

• 2 oz (60 ml) vodka — Grey Goose, Tito’s, Ketel One, or any clean unflavored vodka
• 1 oz (30 ml) syrup from a can of lychees — This is your sweetener; no simple syrup required
• ½ oz (15 ml) dry vermouth — Dolin or Noilly Prat; keep it dry, never sweet
• ½ oz (15 ml) fresh lime juice — Or lemon juice, depending on what you have
• Optional: ½ oz (15 ml) lychee liqueur — Kwai Feh or Soho. Adds depth and intensity if you want a more pronounced lychee hit.
• 1 cup ice cubes — Proper cubes, not crushed
• 2 to 3 canned lychees for garnish

If you add the optional lychee liqueur, drop the lychee syrup to ¾ oz (22 ml) so the drink does not tip into overly sweet territory. The liqueur brings boozy lychee intensity, while the syrup provides the baseline sweetness — together they create a more layered, restaurant-quality flavor than syrup alone.

Why each ingredient is in there

Vodka, not gin. Gin’s juniper and botanicals will steamroll the delicate floral note of lychee. Vodka stays out of the way and lets the fruit lead. If you only have gin, choose a floral or citrus-forward bottle like Hendrick’s rather than a juniper-heavy London Dry.

Lychee syrup as the sweetener. The syrup from a can of lychees is already sweet enough that you do not need to make simple syrup separately. It is also the easiest way to lock in genuine lychee flavor without tracking down juice or puree.

Dry vermouth for backbone. A small pour of dry vermouth gives the cocktail structure and stops it from drinking like a dessert. If you would rather skip it, swap in ½ oz Grand Marnier (orange liqueur) or St. Germain (elderflower) — both work beautifully.

Lime juice for balance. That half ounce of fresh lime cuts the sweetness and stops the drink from feeling syrupy. Do not skip it, and do not use bottled — the difference is noticeable.

Optional lychee liqueur for intensity. Kwai Feh and Soho are the two brands you will see behind most bars. A half ounce adds a concentrated lychee punch that syrup alone cannot match. Reddit bartenders in r/bartenders consistently cite lychee liqueur as the secret to a restaurant-grade pour.

How to Make a Lychee Martini (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Chill the glass

Pop your martini or coupe glass into the freezer at least five minutes before you plan to serve. A warm glass kills a cold cocktail in under a minute. If you are short on freezer space, fill the glass with ice and cold water while you mix the drink, then dump it out right before pouring.

Step 2: Fill your shaker (or mixing glass) with ice

Use proper ice cubes — not the crushed stuff from a fridge dispenser. Crushed ice melts on contact and waters down the drink before you even finish shaking. Fill the shaker generously so the ice cannot slosh around freely; tight-packed ice chills faster and dilutes less.

Step 3: Add the liquid ingredients

Pour in the vodka, lychee syrup, dry vermouth, lime juice, and (if using) the lychee liqueur. The order does not matter much, but I always pour the vodka last so I can eyeball the proportions against the ice line.

Step 4: Shake or stir

This is where opinions split, and both camps are right:

• Shake (15 to 20 seconds) if you want a slightly diluted, frostier, more aerated drink with a thin ice raft on top. This is what most home recipes call for, and it produces a softer, more approachable cocktail.
• Stir (30 seconds) if you want the classic spirit-forward martini character — silkier, less diluted, and noticeably boozier.

I shake mine. I like the extra chill and the faint texture that shaking creates. Stirring is the more traditional martini approach, and it preserves more of the clean vodka edge. Both methods are correct, so pick the camp that matches your taste.

Step 5: Strain and garnish

Strain into your chilled glass. Skewer two or three canned lychees on a long cocktail pick and lay it across the rim. If you want a pop of color, add a thin twist of lime peel. Serve immediately while the drink is at its coldest.

Lychee Martini Variations to Try

The classic recipe is just the starting line. Below are the most popular builds, all of which I have tested side by side — including a Nobu-inspired copycat that Reddit’s r/TopSecretRecipes community has been chasing for years, and a low-sugar option for anyone dialing back sweetness.

1. Classic Vermouth Build (this recipe)

Vodka, lychee syrup, dry vermouth, and lime. The cleanest, most martini-feeling version, and the one that lets the lychee flavor come through most clearly. Great if you enjoy the subtle herbal edge that dry vermouth brings.

2. Grand Marnier Lychee Martini

Swap the vermouth for 1 oz (30 ml) Grand Marnier or Cointreau. The orange liqueur smooths out the vodka and adds a warm citrus note that plays well with the lychee’s floral character. This is the build you will see most often on cocktail blogs, and for good reason — it is approachable, crowd-pleasing, and slightly sweeter than the vermouth version.

3. St. Germain Elderflower Lychee Martini

Swap the vermouth for 1 oz (30 ml) St. Germain elderflower liqueur. This doubles down on the floral side and produces the version that drinks closest to what you would get at an upscale restaurant bar. If I am pushing you toward one variation to try first, this is it.

4. Lychee Gin Gimlet

A gin-based cousin: skip the vermouth entirely, swap the vodka for 2 oz (60 ml) floral gin (Hendrick’s or Empress 1908 work well), and double the lime juice to 1 oz (30 ml). The result is slightly sour, less spirit-forward, and beautifully aromatic. Reddit’s r/Gin community frequently recommends this style.

5. Sake Lychee Martini (Lychee Saketini)

Swap the vermouth for 1 oz (30 ml) dry sake. The drink picks up a subtle umami undercurrent that pairs ridiculously well with sushi and dim sum. Indochine in New York City has been serving a lychee saketini since the 1980s, and this build is my go-to whenever I am doing a Japanese or Chinese takeout night at home.

6. Nobu Copycat Lychee Martini

This is the one everyone asks about. The Nobu lychee martini is famously closely guarded, but the cocktail community — especially threads on r/TopSecretRecipes and r/bartenders — has converged on a formula that comes remarkably close. The key differences from the classic recipe: Nobu’s version uses lychee juice (not syrup), sake instead of vermouth, and no citrus at all.

To build a Nobu-style copycat at home, combine 2 oz (60 ml) vodka, 1 oz (30 ml) lychee juice (not syrup — you want the lighter, less sweet liquid), ½ oz (15 ml) dry sake, and a splash of lychee liqueur (Kwai Feh or Soho if you have it). Shake hard with ice for 15 seconds, double-strain into a chilled coupe, and garnish with two canned lychees on a pick.

The result is lighter, cleaner, and more delicate than the classic recipe — less dessert-like, more food-friendly. If you have only ever had the syrup-heavy version, the Nobu copycat is a revelation. It is the build I serve when I want something that tastes expensive.

7. Lychee Martini Mocktail (Non-Alcoholic)

Yes, it works — and it is ideal for baby showers, brunches, or friends who do not drink.

• 4 muddled canned lychees
• 1.5 oz (45 ml) lychee syrup
• 1 oz (30 ml) fresh lime or lemon juice
• 1 oz (30 ml) lychee juice
• 1 to 2 oz (30 to 60 ml) club soda, to top

Shake the first four ingredients with ice, strain into a chilled glass, top with club soda, and garnish with a lychee and a sprig of mint. It tastes remarkably close to the real thing without the alcohol.

8. Coconut Lychee Martini

Add ½ oz (15 ml) coconut cream to the classic shake for a creamy, beach-vacation version. Garnish with toasted coconut flakes on the rim. This is the most decadent variation on the list.

9. Lychee Ginger Martini

Drop a thin slice of fresh ginger into the shaker before mixing. The warmth lifts the floral notes and adds a faint spicy kick on the finish. Strain carefully if you want to keep ginger fibers out of the glass.

10. Low-Sugar and Keto-Friendly Lychee Martini

Reddit users frequently ask how to dial back the sweetness, and the answer is to reduce the syrup and lean on lychee liqueur and fresh fruit for flavor instead. For a low-sugar build, use 2 oz (60 ml) vodka, ½ oz (15 ml) lychee liqueur (Kwai Feh or Soho), ½ oz (15 ml) fresh lime juice, 2 muddled fresh or canned lychees, and just ¼ oz (7 ml) lychee syrup or a sugar-free simple syrup alternative.

Muddle the lychees in the shaker first, add the remaining ingredients with ice, shake for 15 seconds, and double-strain into a chilled glass. This version lands closer to 160 to 180 calories with significantly less sugar, while still delivering genuine lychee flavor thanks to the liqueur and muddled fruit. It is the build I reach for on weeknights when I want the taste without the sugar crash.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

I made every one of these the first few times I tried this drink. Save yourself the trial and error.

Using crushed ice. Crushed ice melts almost on contact and turns your drink into a watery slushie. Use real cubes, fill the shaker properly, and shake with purpose.

Skipping the citrus. Without lime or lemon, the drink reads as one-dimensional and cloying. Half an ounce of fresh citrus changes everything.

Using sweet vermouth. Sweet vermouth is wonderful in a Manhattan, but here it makes the cocktail taste like cough syrup. Always reach for dry vermouth.

Choosing the wrong vodka. Cheap, harsh vodka comes through loud and clear in a clean cocktail like this. You do not need top-shelf, but you do need something smooth enough to disappear behind the fruit.

Not chilling the glass. A room-temperature glass takes a perfectly cold martini to lukewarm in under a minute. Always chill first.

Over-shaking. More than 20 seconds of vigorous shaking makes the drink watery and the ice raft on top oddly thick. Fifteen to twenty seconds is the sweet spot.

Using lychees from a fresh fruit salad. Fresh lychees are gorgeous, but they do not come with that sweet syrup. If you go fresh, you will need to muddle them and add a teaspoon of simple syrup to compensate for the missing sweetness.

Best Glassware for a Lychee Martini

The classic V-shaped martini glass is the obvious choice, but it is far from the only good option.

• Classic Martini (V-shape) — Iconic, elegant, holds a generous 6 oz pour. The wide rim shows off the lychee garnish beautifully.
• Coupe — My personal favorite. Lower center of gravity, rounded bowl, and a vintage feel. Less likely to spill at a party.
• Nick and Nora — Smaller bowl, slightly tulip-shaped. Holds aromatics better than a V-shape and looks stunning on camera.
• Stemless Martini — Casual, party-friendly, and harder to tip. It warms up faster in the hand, so freeze it longer before pouring.

Whatever you pick, chill it first. That is the one rule that does not bend.

How to Source Lychees and Lychee Syrup

This is where most recipes leave you hanging. Here is the actual playbook based on years of tracking these ingredients down:

• Canned lychees in syrup — Look in the international or Asian foods aisle of any major U.S. grocery store. Roland, Geisha, and Polar are the most common brands. Amazon stocks them year-round, and a can typically runs in the four-to-eight-dollar range.
• Lychee juice or puree — Trickier to find than canned fruit. Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, Publix, and Asian markets are your best bets. Amazon also carries several brands. Costco occasionally stocks lychee juice during the holiday season.
• Fresh lychees — June through August in most U.S. markets. Asian grocers like H Mart and 99 Ranch usually carry them seasonally. Florida and Hawaii have local supply chains as well.
• Lychee liqueur (Soho or Kwai Feh) — These are the two main brands, and standard liquor stores often carry one or the other. Soho tends to be slightly sweeter; Kwai Feh is a touch more floral. Either works in this recipe.
• Torani lychee syrup — If your grocery store does not carry canned lychees, Torani makes a lychee-flavored syrup that works as a substitute sweetener, though you will miss the whole-fruit garnish.

What to Pair With a Lychee Martini

The floral-sweet profile of this cocktail makes it incredibly food-friendly. My favorite pairings lean Asian-fusion and seafood-forward:

• Sushi rolls, especially anything with spicy mayo
• Dumplings and gyoza
• Spring rolls with peanut sauce
• Crab cakes
• Coconut shrimp — if you want dinner ideas that pair perfectly, check out our collection of easy shrimp recipes
• Thai green curry
• Coconut cake or mango sorbet for dessert
• Cheese boards leaning soft and creamy (brie, burrata)

The drink’s sweetness also makes it a natural match for salty, fried, and umami-rich dishes — which is why it has been a fixture at Asian-fusion restaurants since the 1990s. If you are hosting, build a menu around those flavors and let the cocktail tie everything together.

Lychee Martini Nutrition (Approximate)

Calorie counts vary depending on how much syrup you use and which spirits and modifiers you reach for, but here is a realistic ballpark for the classic recipe:

• Calories: 210 to 260 kcal per cocktail
• Carbohydrates: 12 to 16 g
• Sugar: 8 to 14 g
• Protein: Under 1 g
• Sodium: 2 to 10 mg
• Vitamin C: 5 to 14 mg (thanks to the lime and lychee)
• ABV: Approximately 20 percent

Lychee fruit itself is genuinely nutritious — it is a solid source of vitamin C and plant antioxidants like polyphenols — but obviously the syrup and the alcohol shift the overall math. Using lychee juice instead of syrup drops the calorie count closer to 180 per drink, and the low-sugar variation above lands even lower. Drink in moderation, hydrate alongside, and never drive after.

How to Make a Batch for a Party

If you are hosting and do not want to shake drinks one at a time, this recipe scales cleanly into a pitcher format:

1. Multiply the recipe by the number of guests (skip the ice and lychee garnish for now).
2. Combine vodka, lychee syrup, vermouth, and lime juice in a pitcher. Add the lychee liqueur if using.
3. Refrigerate the pitcher for up to 4 hours.
4. When ready to serve, pour about 4 oz (120 ml) of the mixture into a shaker with fresh ice, shake for 10 to 15 seconds, strain into a chilled glass, and garnish.

Pre-skewer your lychee garnishes ahead of time: drain them, pat them dry, and keep them covered in the fridge so they stay glossy. If you are planning a full gathering, pair this batch cocktail with our weekend lunch ideas for an effortless spread.

How Long Does a Lychee Martini Keep?

Made ahead and stored in a sealed jar in the fridge, the mixed cocktail (without ice) holds up well for about 48 hours. Past that, the lime starts to taste flat and the vermouth begins to oxidize. Always shake again with fresh ice before serving to restore the proper chill and dilution.

Pro Tips From the Bar

A few details I have picked up from working bartenders and Reddit cocktail communities that genuinely make a difference:

Pre-chill your spirits. Stash the vodka in the freezer. It will not freeze (40 percent ABV stays liquid), but it pours ice-cold and dilutes less when it hits the shaker.

Use fresh citrus, always. Bottled lime juice tastes preserved and flat. The half ounce in this drink is too important to skimp on.

Drop a lychee straight into the glass. Some bartenders skip the cocktail pick entirely and sink one or two whole lychees into the bottom of the glass. They soak up the cocktail and become a surprise treat at the end of the drink.

Try infused vodka. Drain a can of lychees and submerge the fruit in vodka for 48 hours in the fridge. Strain, and you have homemade lychee-infused vodka that turbocharges any of these recipes. This is a trick that comes up constantly in r/bartenders threads.

Double-strain for a silky pour. If you muddled fresh fruit or used lychee puree, pour the shaker through a fine-mesh sieve into the glass. It catches pulp and ice shards and gives you that restaurant-clean finish.

Lychee Martini Recipe (Printable Card)

Yield: 1 cocktail   Prep time: 5 minutes   Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 oz (60 ml) vodka
• 1 oz (30 ml) lychee syrup (from a can of lychees)
• ½ oz (15 ml) dry vermouth
• ½ oz (15 ml) fresh lime juice
• Optional: ½ oz (15 ml) lychee liqueur (Kwai Feh or Soho) — if using, reduce lychee syrup to ¾ oz (22 ml)
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 2 to 3 canned lychees, for garnish

Instructions

1. Place a martini or coupe glass in the freezer for at least 5 minutes.
2. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes (not crushed).
3. Add vodka, lychee syrup, dry vermouth, lime juice, and lychee liqueur (if using) to the shaker.
4. Shake vigorously for 15 to 20 seconds, or stir for 30 seconds if you prefer a spirit-forward style.
5. Strain into the chilled glass.
6. Skewer 2 to 3 lychees on a cocktail pick, lay across the rim, and serve immediately.

Notes

• For a sweeter drink, increase lychee syrup to 1.5 oz (45 ml).
• For a less sweet drink, drop syrup to ½ oz (15 ml) and lean on the optional lychee liqueur for flavor.
• Swap dry vermouth for 1 oz (30 ml) Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or St. Germain for a different flavor profile.
• For a Nobu-style copycat: replace vermouth with ½ oz (15 ml) dry sake, replace syrup with 1 oz (30 ml) lychee juice, omit lime, and add a splash of lychee liqueur.
• For a low-sugar or keto-friendly version: use ½ oz (15 ml) lychee liqueur, muddle 2 fresh lychees, reduce syrup to ¼ oz (7 ml), and keep the lime.
• For a mocktail, see the full non-alcoholic variation above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

The lychee martini is one of those drinks that sounds fancy and looks impressive but is genuinely beginner-easy once you have a can of lychees in the pantry. Master this lychee martini recipe once and you will have it memorized — from there, you can chase whichever variation matches the mood. If you are unsure where to start beyond the classic, the St. Germain elderflower build is the one I would push you toward first. It tastes like a real cocktail bar made it for you.

If you want to push further, try the Nobu copycat next — the switch from syrup to lychee juice and from vermouth to sake completely transforms the drink into something lighter and more elegant. And if you are watching your sugar intake, the low-sugar variation with lychee liqueur and muddled fruit delivers all the flavor with a fraction of the sweetness.

Looking for more great recipes? Browse our full recipe collection for dinner ideas, desserts, and more cocktails. Pour, sip, and save this page for later. Cheers.