Strawberry S’mores Martini with Honey Toasted Marshmallow Syrup

Nothing beats the crispy outside and gooey center of a roasty toasty marshmallow, except maybe enjoying that sweet treat as part of a decadent cocktail. Next time you’re sitting around the campfire (or just thinking about one) enjoy a strawberry s’mores martini, featuring a homemade honey toasted marshmallow syrup.

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Usually, my cocktail recipes include a fancy rim, a complex garnish, or a specialized syrup. This one has got all three, so you know it’s going to be both delicious and a good time. Plus, both the syrup and garnish involve making one of my favorite things ever: toasted marshmallows.

The strawberry here might feel out of place, but trust me. The slightly tart and sweet freshness of these summer berries perfectly complements all the flavors traditionally included in s’mores: honey graham cracker, smooth dark chocolate, and of course, those extra gooey marshmallows.

What You Need to Get Started

You can easily find all of the ingredients for this strawberry s’mores martini at your grocery store:

• Pantry: Sugar, Honey, Marshmallows, Graham crackers, Mini chocolate chips (optional)
• From the Bar: Vodka (My favorite, National brand), Dark chocolate liqueur
• Fridge: Strawberry preserves
• Produce: Strawberry (optional)
• Equipment: Oven-safe skewer, Aluminum foil, Saucepan, Cocktail shaker, Mesh strainer, Martini glass

How to Make Honey Toasted Marshmallow Syrup

One of the first steps in this entire recipe is to toast up some marshmallows, so let’s talk about the different strategies for that first. For the classic woodsmoke flavor, you’ll want to use long sticks and roast over a campfire. But you can also use a broiler or even a kitchen blowtorch if you prefer.

If you are working over a campfire, be sure the fire has died down slightly, and it’s more embers than large, roaring flames. Place the marshmallows on the end of a long stick and hold them about an inch or two above the embers, rotating slowly to evenly heat all sides until they are golden-brown.

For the indoor methods, use a metal heat-proof skewer, and thread all four marshmallows onto it. Then, roll up two balls of aluminum foil to elevate the skewer about a quarter inch above a foil-lined sheet pan. This will keep your marshmallows from sticking.

To broil, preheat your broiler on the highest setting. Place the pan with the marshmallows under the heat for just a couple minutes, until they have browned. Watch these carefully to avoid burning, which can happen very quickly. You may want to keep the oven door open.

To use a kitchen torch, follow the manufacturer’s instructions, holding the flame away from you, and gently charring the edges of the marshmallows. Rotate the skewer to evenly toast all sides.

Meanwhile, add water, honey, and sugar to a small saucepan, and stir to combine them all together. Cook this syrup mixture over medium-high heat, stirring gently until both the sugar and honey have dissolved into the water.

The honey here helps to bring out the graham crackers. The cocktail itself will not have any actual graham crackers outside of the rim and the garnish, but we are able to capture the sweet and rich flavor of them by using honey in the syrup.

The sugar helps to balance it out, so that flavor doesn’t overpower the delicate marshmallow, which we’ll add now. Turn the heat on your stove down to low, and stir in the toasted marshmallows, removing them from the skewer.

Continue stirring until the marshmallow has dissolved into the hot liquid. It will be foamy, but there should be no large marshmallow pieces. This might take a few minutes, as the marshmallows break down in the hot liquid, but be patient. They will dissolve in soon!

Adding the actual toasted marshmallows into the syrup here, instead of using extract or an artificially flavored liquor, really makes a difference here. However, if you are not able to toast your marshmallows, then feel free to experiment with these alternatives.

Carefully transfer the honey marshmallow syrup to a jar. This recipe makes about a cup, so an eight-ounce mason jar is the perfect size. However, you’ll need to pour it slowly and allow the foam to break down a bit, so it doesn’t overflow.

Let the syrup cool to room temperature, which will take about an hour, or a little longer. If it’s still lukewarm when you want to use it, that’s fine, as long as it’s not hot. Once cooled, the honey toasted marshmallow syrup can be stored in sealed jar in the fridge for a couple weeks. Just let it warm up slightly and stir in the foam before using it.

Let’s Make a Strawberry S’mores Martini

Now it’s time to make the cocktail! I suggest preparing both the garnish and the graham cracker rims before you begin mixing up the ingredients for the strawberry s’mores martini itself. Both of these can be made up to an hour before serving. However, the toasted marshmallows in the mini s’more will cool down and lose some fluffiness as they rest.

To build the mini s’more garnish, you’ll start by toasting your marshmallow just like you did before: using a campfire, the broiler, or a kitchen torch. Once it’s perfectly golden brown, allow the marshmallow to cool slightly so you are able to handle it.

Remove the marshmallow from the skewer by splitting one edge, so you have a single piece of marshmallow with a toasty side and a sticky side. Press a few mini chocolate chips into the sticky side.

Then, place the graham cracker inside the marshmallow with the strawberry on top. Use a cocktail skewer through the marshmallow and strawberry to hold it all together, and set the whole mini s’more aside.

To prepare the graham cracker rim, you will need some finely crushed graham crackers, so break these up with a mallet, food processor, or your fingers first. Then spread them around a small plate or saucer that’s just wider than the rim of your glass.

Using the tip of a squeeze bottle of honey, line the rim of your martini glass, allowing some to drip down the sides if you’d like. This adds some visual effect and a little extra honey flavor.

Once coated, place the glass upside-down into the graham cracker crumbs. Turn it and tilt the glass to allow the crumbs to adhere to the honey. You can also use your fingers to gently press the crumbs onto the glass. Set this aside as well while you mix up the cocktail.

Fill a cocktail shaker about halfway with ice. I have recently switched to using a Boston-style shaker, which includes a weighted glass and a metal shaker that fit together. This can hold more liquid and provides a better seal. However, a basic cobbler shaker, which has a base and a lid with a built-in strainer, works perfectly here as well.

Add vodka, chocolate liqueur, marshmallow syrup, and strawberry preserves into your shaker, whichever type you are using. Each of these ingredients lends its flavor to build out the strawberry s’more, perfectly mirroring the garnish you just made. The vodka is mostly there to add more of a kick.

Tightly seal your cocktail shaker and shake it vigorously for about a minute. This adds some water to the drink, diluting it slightly, and also chills your martini. Any metal should frost up slightly and feel significantly colder to you when it’s done.

Pour the cocktail from the shaker through a mesh strainer into the prepared martini glass. The strainer will catch all of the ice, any larger marshmallow pieces from the syrup, and any strawberry preserves that didn’t quite get mixed in.

Give your shaker another quick swirl to release anything trapped by the ice that’s still in there, and continue pouring to top off the martini. Place the skewered mini s’more on top of the glass as a garnish, or try garnishing with anything else you think would be a fun match.

This strawberry s’mores martini is best shaken just before serving, especially if you are using the graham cracker rim and garnish. If you need to make a larger batch, simply multiply the ingredients for the martini, and shake each to serve. Depending on the size of your cocktail shaker, you may be able to make a few servings at once.

How to Serve a Strawberry S’mores Martini

I’m picturing these martinis as the perfect way to end a day filled with sunshine and hiking. You’ve had some time to unwind, and now you’re watching the embers of the fire burn low with this drink in one hand. In the other? A chocolate chip cookie s’more, of course! Or for something extra fun, have everyone build their own banana boat ice cream sundaes.

But you don’t need the wilderness to enjoy this drink. Mix one up for a cozy night in with a personal-sized chocolate, strawberry, and balsamic tartlet. For a larger crowd, serve the slices of either a strawberry chocolate torte or a showstopping s’mores drip cake.

Or make this rich and decadent drink part of a fully chocolate cocktail lineup. You can serve it alongside a chocolate old fashioned, some birthday cake martinis for the white chocolate lovers, and caramel pecan chocolate turtle martinis, to show off the versatility of chocolate.

Use Up Leftover Ingredients

• Vodka is one of the most versatile liquors! Try it in one of a rainbow of 28 cocktail recipes.
• Use extra dark chocolate liqueur in the ultra-classy chocolate covered cherry manhattan.
• The sweet flavor of honey is highlighted in a pavlova topped with chai-poached plums.
• Extra graham crackers are the perfect excuse to make a basic graham cracker crust and then fill it however you want!
• Strawberries are the star in so many fruit bakes, but especially a creamy strawberry cobbler with shortbread biscuits.

Special Equipment

• Oven-safe skewer
• Aluminum foil
• Saucepan
• Cocktail shaker
• Mesh strainer
• Martini glass

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• Cocktail skewers
• Flexible spatula
• 8oz Mason jar
• Small pink plate