Martha Stewart’s Top 9 Alcoholic Beverages

Entertaining is a skill that Martha Stewart has honed to perfection, and as every good host knows, serving great drinks is just as important as wowing your guests with delicious food. Over the years she has shaken up many a cocktail, but what are her favorite boozy drinks that she returns to again and again?

From autumnal cocktails made with cider that she presses herself to refreshing spritzers, Martha enjoys a wide variety of drinks, meaning there is a perfect drink on her list for every occasion. Her favorite drinks all have a few things in common — they are perfectly balanced, packed full of bold flavors, and, of course, elegantly presented in classic Martha style.

Let’s explore the boozy beverages that Martha names as her favorites and see what unique spin she puts on each one. Whether you love a light summer cocktail or a warming Irish coffee, Martha Stewart has a drink that will keep you happy.

Martha Stewart is a master at balancing flavors, so it should be no surprise that one of her favorite drinks is a perfect combination of sweet and tart. The lemon drop martini is a refreshing drink that Martha makes her own by using high-quality alcohol and a special type of lemon.

Martha’s Polish heritage means that she has high standards when it comes to vodka, and she recommends a high-quality Polish bottle such as Belvedere. This organic vodka is known for its smooth, clean flavor, making it the ideal spirit to star in her favorite cocktail. The addition of Cointreau gives a sweet orange element that contrasts the strength of the vodka and the lemon juice. In true Martha style, the lemon juice in her recipe is freshly squeezed and comes from Meyer lemons rather than regular ones.

Meyer lemons are thought to be a hybrid of a regular lemon and a mandarin, giving them a sweeter flavor with not as much lip-puckering sourness. This makes them a great addition to this cocktail, complementing the orange flavor from the liqueur. Martha recommends squeezing each lemon to order for the cocktail, to retain the brightness of flavor. The final touch on this drink is the sugar rim, which Martha likes to color yellow for added flair. As well as making the drink look fabulous, it creates a sweet burst on the lips before the robust flavors of the spirits and lemon juice dance across your palate.

If there is ever a time to try out one of Martha Stewart’s favorite boozy creations, surely the holiday season qualifies, and her famous eggnog will not disappoint. While most eggnog recipes call for a choice of rum or brandy, Martha doesn’t feel the need to exclude, and incorporates dark rum, Cognac, and bourbon into her holiday drink — it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted!

Martha enjoys this indulgent drink every year before her holiday party, and if you fancy starting the same tradition, thankfully, it is a simple recipe to whip up. Egg yolks, superfine sugar, and a mixture of milk and heavy cream get whisked up together to make the creamy base before copious quantities of booze are added. The egg whites are whipped up separately and added at the end, before the whole bowl is topped with whipped heavy cream. This is certainly not a drink to make if you are in the mood for something light and dainty.

It’s worth remembering that Martha’s recipe calls for raw eggs, which can be a safety concern for some groups of people. Since children and those who are pregnant are not likely to be sampling this ridiculously strong masterpiece, you won’t have to worry about them, but caution should be taken all the same. If in doubt, use pasteurized eggs which are considered much safer by the CDC.

If there is one drink that we’re really not surprised to find out is on Martha Stewart’s list of favorites, it is Aperol spritz. This Italian-based drink is as elegant as they come, and Martha enjoys a few different versions.

As a cocktail, or wine-tail, sparkling Aperol stands apart from sweet, juice-loaded cocktails with a much more refreshing slant. The traditional Aperol spritz recipe includes prosecco, Aperol, and a splash of soda water, so there is not much mixer to dilute the alcoholic effect. Aperol is in Italian botanical liquor with a bitter orange flavor, and those who dislike it often compare its flavor to that of cough syrup. Combined with the sparkling prosecco though, it creates a refreshing drink that many, including Martha, love to sip slowly as a pre-dinner drink.

If you fancy a lower-alcohol version, Martha’s Amaro spritz hits similar notes but without the boozy punch from the prosecco. Instead, add Aperol, or any other bitter, such as Campari, to tonic water and a squeeze of lemon juice to create a drink with the floral notes of an Aperol spritz without the hangover. Whichever version of sparkling Aperol you choose, be sure to serve in an elegant glass with a twist of orange on top to finish it off.

For those who enjoy their coffee and their liquor, an Irish coffee is the perfect drink, and Martha is a fan of a variation known as the Blizzard, which she refers to as “beautiful.” Perfect for a snowy evening, it uses a combination of spirits and liqueurs to hit all the right wintry notes.

Starting with a generous serving of Jameson’s whiskey, Baileys is then added to provide sweet and creamy notes before the piping hot coffee is poured. So far, the drink is full of complex, alcoholic layers that would keep most of us happy, but the Blizzard isn’t finished yet. To top it off, a layer of whipped cream is added, infused with a shot of Grand Marnier. The citrus and vanilla notes from the liqueur elevate this Irish coffee to something magnificent, and the combination of three different spirits (not for the first time on this list!) is sure to keep you warm on a chilly night. 

We know that elegance is something Martha Stewart does well, so it is no surprise that Champagne cocktails make it onto her list of favorite boozy drinks. But she manages to up the stylishness even further by adding in fresh redcurrant puree to create a tangy, bubbly delight.

Rather than use store-bought juice or puree, Martha likes to make homemade recurrent puree by simmering fresh redcurrants in water and a little sugar, then pushing the mixture through a fine sieve to remove all of the seeds. Redcurrants have a wonderful tart flavor with a touch of sweetness, and once they are cooked in the sugar, the balance of flavor will be just right to pair perfectly with the Champagne.

Martha pours just a little of the chilled currant puree into a Champagne flute, taking up around an inch of height at the bottom of the glass, leaving the Champagne to do the rest of the talking. The result is a gorgeous deep red sparkling drink that is just the right balance between sweet and tart.

If you love orange liqueurs, you will understand the inspiration behind Martha’s citrusy invention, the Cointreau Kiss. As a cocktail, it is incredibly simple but utterly delicious and could happily be served before dinner as a refreshing summer cocktail, or as a slow-sipping digestif after the main event.

Martha often adds citrus to both her food and drinks, and the star of this particular beverage is the ideal balance of tangy and sweet. The French liqueur is a type of triple-sec made from sweet and bitter orange peels, giving it a fresher and sweeter flavor than its close cousin Grand Marnier. In Martha’s Cointreau Kiss, it pairs with tequila, giving it margarita vibes, but it is much more mellow than the classic Mexican cocktail. It is also topped with a splash of sparkling water, giving a little relief from the intense, boozy flavors from the two spirits. Martha suggests that a rim of raw sugar may be a welcome addition — and don’t forget to add a twist of fresh orange at the end for garnish.

One of Martha Stewart’s favorite boozy drinks in the fall is a cider bourbon smash, which she loves to drink at Thanksgiving. Never one to rely on store-bought produce, Martha uses her own homemade apple cider that she makes by pressing apples she grows on her farm. She likes to use different varieties of apple to create as complex a flavor as possible, but if you don’t have any apple trees handy, you can easily recreate this favorite cocktail of hers with store-bought cider instead.

The cocktail itself is a symphony of contrasting flavors: sweet apple cider, sour lemon juice, spicy fresh ginger, and the richness of bourbon combine to create an autumnal drink that is like a party for your taste buds. A handy tip from Martha, which could be adapted for other drinks, too, is to make ice cubes using apple cider instead of water. By freezing one of the drink’s main ingredients it will give you the chilled effect you want from an ice cube, but won’t dilute the drink as it melts — genius!

If you are a fan of cocktails, there is nothing better than sipping a refreshing summery cocktail on a warm evening, and one of Martha Stewart’s favorites has sherry as the star ingredient. The drink has a great balance of sweetness, sharpness, and an earthy quality to it, making it the ideal drink to enjoy with some pre-dinner nibbles.

The key to this cocktail is choosing the correct sherry. There are seven types of sherry, ranging from extremely dry and crisp to deliciously creamy and sweet, and if you choose one from the wrong end of the scale, this drink is not going to work. Martha’s cocktail features a Fino sherry, which is a straw-colored fortified wine that is very dry and usually enjoyed with savory foods. The sherry is combined with freshly juiced celery, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and a dash of homemade sugar syrup to balance the flavors.

Martha serves her “fantastic drink” with plenty of ice and a wedge of Seville lemon to give a tangy kick to complement the cocktail. To truly recreate Martha’s cocktail, serve it alongside some Spanish appetizers such as crusty bread and almonds.

Although flavor is, of course, the number one factor when making cocktails, Martha Stewart knows the importance of presentation, too, and she nails it yet again with one of her favorite vodka cocktails, the blood orange martini. The beautiful crimson hue from the fruit makes this drink a stunner when you serve it to guests and it creates a sophisticated variation on the classic martini.

Blood oranges have a slightly more tart flavor than regular oranges, which Martha thinks makes them a perfect match for the vodka. She chooses citrus vodka for her recipe, but regular vodka will work just fine if you prefer. The freshly squeezed juice from the blood oranges is added to vodka and then shaken over ice to create a tangy, refreshing cocktail with a vibrant red color that will make quite a statement at your next cocktail party. Serve in a classic martini glass for full aesthetic effect.