Christmas Peppermint Mocha Martini

The holidays are full of cozy flavors – peppermint, cocoa, coffee – but why stop at seasonal lattes when you can shake up something truly festive? This Peppermint Mocha Martini is your Christmas dessert-in-a-glass: a creamy, minty, chocolate-coffee cocktail that feels indulgent yet elegant.

This martini blends vodka with white crème de menthe, white chocolate liqueur, and coffee liqueur, along with cold brew. The result? Layers of dark coffee and rich chocolate, brightened by peppermint. A little cream softens the edges and makes it silky, while chocolate bitters add depth and balance the sweetness. Add a swirl of chocolate sauce and a candy cane garnish to bring everything together.

It’s not just a coffee drink pretending to be a cocktail – it’s a creamy, balanced dessert cocktail that’s perfect for the holidays. Whether you’re serving it after Christmas dinner or mixing one for yourself by the fire on Christmas Eve, this Peppermint Mocha Martini brings all the festive flavors of the season into a glass.

I love serving these after dinner during the holidays with some simple cranberry shortbread cookies that don’t take away from the rich and creamy martini.

Ingredients

• Vodka – Choose your favorite vodka for this peppermint mocha martini, but be sure it’s plain. There’s a lot of flavor from other spirits in this recipe, so you don’t need to add in an additional element with a flavored vodka.
• White creme de menthe – Peppermint schnapps will work here too. You can use the green creme de menthe if that’s what you have on hand, but it will change the color of the drink. You can also swap out the liquor for my peppermint syrup if you prefer.
• Half and half or heavy cream – Choose your preference between half and half or heavy cream. If you want to use regular milk, don’t go lower in milk fat than whole milk and do not use non-dairy milk in this drink.
• Cold brew coffee – Either dark roast cold brew coffee or brewed dark roast coffee that’s been chilled will work well in this drink.
• White chocolate liqueur – Choose your favorite brand for this one. Both Godiva and Mozart brands make good options.
• Coffee liqueur – This enhances the coffee flavor in the drink. Choose your favorite brand. I like Kahlúa or Mr. Black.
• Chocolate bitters – Bitters tones down the overall sweetness of the drink while adding depth to the chocolate flavor.
• Chocolate syrup – This is for garnish only. Feel free to skip it if you don’t want to have a fun drizzle around the outside of the glass.

Prepare your glass

Drizzle a circle of chocolate syrup around the inside top of your martini glass.

Holding your glass upright, give the glass a gentle spin using its stem to help the chocolate syrup slide down the inside of the glass. Set aside.

Looking for more Peppermint and Chocolate Recipes?

Love the chocolate peppermint combo? Make my peppermint candy cane bark or peppermint hot cocoa. Bonus – they make great holiday gifts.

Easy Peppermint Candy Cane Bark Recipe

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Mix (Just Add Milk)