Butterfly Martini
Similar to a butterfly, this cocktail transforms into something absolutely magical and elegant. Our vodka based Butterfly Martini recipe uses lemon and ginger, for a uniquely exotic flavor profile. This beautiful cocktail comes alive when combined with butterfly pea flower tea, and mysteriously changes from a light blue color into a lovely lavender hue, when fresh lemon juice is added.
A touch of ginger simple syrup adds an exotic flavor and turns this delicate drink into something special. This cocktail is served as a martini, but if you want to really impress your guests, serve it on the rocks and watch their reaction when the metamorphosis happens before their eyes! Want to know more about make ahead preparation and the many health benefits of the butterfly pea flower? Just visit our Blog Comments & Tips below.
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RECIPE
(Check out our Step by Step Instructions below the recipe card.)
Recipe updated as of 3/23/22
BUTTERFLY MARTINI
Ingredients
Instructions
- Boil filtered water in a saucepan, or microwave in a measuring cup. Add dried butterfly pea flowers, stir to moisten the flowers, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes. Tea will change from light blue to deep blue.
- Strain, and chill tea in the refrigerator until ready to use. Reserve steeped butterfly pea flowers for your garnish, by placing them in a small plastic bag, and refrigerating. When ready to serve, just drop a steeped flower in the cocktail and let it float on top of the drink as a garnish.
- Add ice to a cocktail shaker, then add vodka, Ginger Simple Syrup, 1 ½ ounces prepared butterfly pea flower tea, and lemon juice. Cover, shake vigorously, and strain into a chilled martini glass.
- Garnish with a steeped butterfly pea flower, or lemon twist, and serve immediately.
Notes
- Make the butterfly pea flower tea up to one night in advance, and refrigerate in an airtight container.
- If you are entertaining, just multiply this recipe by the number of guests. Recipe can be made ahead of time by adding the vodka, ginger syrup, and pea flower tea, to a pitcher, and refrigerating until guests arrive. When time to serve, add the mixture to a shaker, then add the appropriate amount of lemon juice. Shake, strain, and serve.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
162.39Fat (grams)
0.07Sat. Fat (grams)
0.01Carbs (grams)
9.10Fiber (grams)
0.09Net carbs
9.01Sugar (grams)
7.77Protein (grams)
0.11Sodium (milligrams)
10.64Cholesterol (grams)
0.00Nutritional information provided is strictly an estimate and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods.
Step by Step Instructions
TEA PREPARATION
2 ingredients to make the tea. Easy-peasy!
Note: We used the GiveOrBuy organic butterfly pea flowers for this photo shoot. Although we like the results from the GiveOrBuy brand, we prefer the quality of the Suncore Butterfly Pea Flowers instead.
TEA
STEP 1
Boil 1 cup of filtered water (in a Pyrex measuring cup or small saucepan), and add 6 butterfly pea flowers. Stir to moisten the flowers, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes. Tea will change from light blue to deep blue.
See time lapse photos below of color change: a) after 1 minute, b) after 3 minutes, c) after 5 minutes, d) after 15 minutes.
STEP 2
Strain, and chill tea in the refrigerator until ready to use. Reserve steeped butterfly pea flowers by placing them in a small plastic bag, and refrigerate.
Note: Reserved tea flowers can be used as a garnish. Just drop a steeped flower in the cocktail and let it float on top of the drink as a garnish.
COCKTAIL
COCKTAIL PREPARATION
Organize all your tools and ingredients before you begin. Getting all your ingredients in one place at the beginning will shorten your prep time.
STEP 1
a) Add 1 cup ice cubes to a cocktail shaker. Then add 2 ounces vodka, ½ ounce Ginger Simple Syrup, 1 ½ ounces prepared butterfly pea flower tea, and 1 ounce fresh lemon juice.
b) Cover and shake vigorously.
c) Strain into a chilled martini glass.
SERVE
Garnish with a steeped butterfly pea flower, or lemon twist, and serve immediately.
Note: As an elegant garnish, pierce a piece of candied ginger or crystallized ginger through a decorative and extra long cocktail pick, and lay across the top rim of the entire martini glass. If you reserved candied or crystallized ginger when making your Ginger Simple Syrup recipe, use it! It’s best when it’s freshly made.
Notes:
Make the butterfly pea flower tea up to one night in advance, and refrigerate in an airtight container.
If you are entertaining, just multiply this recipe by the number of guests. Recipe can be made ahead of time by adding the vodka, ginger simple syrup, and pea flower tea, to a pitcher, and refrigerating until guests arrive. When time to serve, add the mixture to a shaker, then add the appropriate amount of lemon juice. Shake, strain, and serve.
VIDEO
How to Make this Magical Cocktail in 3 Easy Steps!
Blog Comments & Tips
A magical and exotic martini!
This beautiful cocktail is somewhat unique because of two main elements: the butterfly pea flower tea and Ginger Simple Syrup. Combining these two ingredients with vodka and fresh lemon juice, results in an exotic cocktail that is citrusy, gingery, and elegant.
Butterfly pea flowers have a natural color changing element, and are steeped like tea, which then turns a deep blue after a few minutes. This lovely lavender cocktail comes alive when combined with butterfly pea flower tea, it magically changes from a light blue color into a beautiful lavender hue when fresh lemon juice is added.
Mixing together this cocktail feels a bit like performing a science experiment!
In addition to being fun to make, this cocktail is a great conversation starter when you are entertaining. Our cocktail recipe is intended to be served as a martini, but if you want to really impress your guests, serve it on the rocks and watch their reaction when the metamorphosis happens before their eyes! See our Pimp Our Recipe recommendations below for details, and serving a crowd.
Although butterfly pea flowers have been around for years, we recently discovered this interesting little flower. At the PMR test kitchens, we were scratching our heads trying to figure out a natural way to dye food. We don’t often use food coloring, and certainly not for cocktails. So, when we came across this pea flower tea, it felt like we had hit the jackpot! We are so excited about these little cerulean flowers, that we will be developing a few more recipes in the future for other cocktails and mocktails.
Butterfly pea flower tea has a subtle earthy taste, similar to an extremely mild version of green tea. Not only is this pea flower tea pretty, but it is said to have many health benefits. It is rich in anthocyanin, an antioxidant (no surprise with that color!) that is also found in blueberries and red wine. This antioxidant is claimed to have the capacity to lower blood pressure, improve visual acuity, and is reported to have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. Other studies have reported it to be a mood enhancer and have stress-busting effects that may help reduce symptoms of anxiety.
Although we are wild about this cerulean flower, we don’t want to forget ginger, which is the other star of this cocktail. Ginger also has many health benefits, so check out the blog in our Ginger Simple Syrup recipe page for details. To not to overpower this martini, we only use a touch of ginger syrup. But it adds a wonderfully exotic flavor to this drink. The bonus is you can eat the candied ginger once your syrup is made!
Our 4 tips to making this Butterfly Martini:
High quality vodka.
Make your own simple syrup. Try our Ginger Simple Syrup recipe!
Freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Chill your martini glasses at least 30 minutes before serving.
Want to customize and Pimp Our Recipe?
Pimp Our Recipe:
Make it Milder: Don’t like ginger? In place of the ginger simple syrup, use regular simple syrup. It will taste a bit more like a lemon drop.
Make it More Sweet & Gingery: If you absolutely love ginger and sweet cocktails, instead of ½ ounce, add 1 ounce Ginger Simple Syrup. Our Ginger Simple Syrup has a moderate strength, which will give this drink a moderate punch of ginger.
Make it Keto: In place of the ginger simple syrup, use Sugar Free Simple Syrup (coming soon). If you use our sugar free recipe, just add slices of ginger when combining all ingredients.
Make it Ahead: If entertaining, make it ahead of time by just mixing together the vodka, pea flower tea, and ginger simple syrup (NOT the lemon juice), in a large pitcher. Stir, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. When ready to serve, just add martini mixture to a shaker with ice, now add the lemon juice, shake vigorously, strain, and serve in martini glasses.
Make it For A Crowd: Serve it on the rocks and watch your guests’ reactions! Use the “Make it Ahead” instructions above. When ready to serve, fill rocks glass with ice, pour the martini mixture over ice, then slowly add the lemon juice to each glass (while your guests are watching). Wait one minute to see the metamorphosis. Then serve with a stir stick, and have each guest stir their own cocktail. They will be amazed by the transformation!
Make it Non-Alcoholic: Although it’s not an exact mocktail of this recipe, Magic Lemonade (non-alcoholic) comes really close. We used most of the same ingredients (except the vodka and ginger simple syrup) in this recipe, including butterfly pea flower tea and fresh lemon juice. Our lemonade is a great substitute for non-drinkers, and is beautiful enough to serve alongside of this Butterfly Martini.
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Santé!
Mich
Footnote: Remember to chill your martini glasses 30 minutes before serving.
Inspired by the Color Changing Martini recipe by Liquor.com, we’ve taken this interesting gin martini and freshened up the flavor by using vodka and more natural ingredients.
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