Appletini Cocktail

The Appletini cocktail is a drink built with Vodka, Calvados, apple juice, lemon juice, and sugar syrup!

Appletini Cocktail Info

Although it's likely that you haven't seen an Appletini cocktail in a while, there was once a time when this neon-colored cocktail was the king of cocktails. The Apple Martini is a sweet-sour cocktail with a subtle kick and kryptonite's appearance. It was both sweet and sour and hugely popular from its inception over 20 years ago.

It all began one-Fourth of July at Lola's West Hollywood restaurant. Loren "Lola" Dunsworth was approached by Ketel One, a representative of the fledgling vodka brand Ketel One, with the idea to create a signature Martini.

Dunsworth saw a bottle of apple schnapps sitting on the back bar. He asked Adam Karston, a bartender, to make something from the two. An Apple schnapps imitation liquor and Ketel One vodka were combined, and he added a splash house-made sweet and sour mix to make a legend.

It was so popular that the cocktail had to be removed from the menu. Dunsworth says the cocktails were simple to drink, as you didn't taste the alcohol. (just like Sweet Bite!) They were being abused. I thought, "Let's take this off for a while." But they had to quickly put it back due to angry customers.

Six months later, word spread quickly about the cocktail across the country, and every restaurant and bar with a Martini menu had its own version. None of these versions were as good as the original Appletini.

Dunsworth says that Lola's garnished their drink with Granny Smith apple slices. The bar marinated them in lemon water and ice to keep them fresh. "People would say, 'Oh my God, it tastes so much better here.'"

As a symbol of innocence and pre-9/11 America, the Appletini cocktail proudly marched into the late-1990s/early aughts. It was the drink that the happy person. It was what Zach Braff's character ordered while watching "Scrubs," and it was also the toast at Sean Parker's meeting in "The Social Network ." The Appletini is a worldwide recognized classic.

After 17 years of happy hour and sticky bar tops, Lola's closed its doors in 2013. However, Lola's signature cocktail is still available in a modernized form. The cocktail has been reinvented by bartenders using fresh Granny Smith juice and craft-quality apple liquors.

This version of the Appletini cocktail uses Calvados instead of apple schnapps. Simple syrup and a little lemon juice are also added to highlight the green flavor profile, which helped to popularize the drink.