Every cocktail in my first cherry blossom series has been built around movement: something shaken, something muddled, something fizzing with soda. The Sakura Drift Martini is the one that stays still.

It’s a stirred drink with three ingredients, served cold in a Nick and Nora glass.

But why make it in spring? Well, the Yoshino trees around the DC Tidal Basin bloom mid-March through mid-April, the peak bloom window lasts only a few days, and everything about this season asks you to slow down and pay attention.

A stirred martini is the right drink for this season, especially when we are all frantically gardening and trying to get outside more to enjoy the warmth and sunshine (unless, of course, you live near me in California; then you are just planting your next batch of fruits, vegetables and flowers, because we have stuff growing all of the time around here).

The name comes from the way cherry blossom petals move on water. Not falling exactly, more drifting.

Vodka or Gin?

You will want to think about this carefully, as the two versions taste substantially different.

Vodka gives you the purest expression of the cherry blossom syrup. The spirit recedes, the vermouth provides structure, and the floral note comes through a bit more clearly.

If you want to taste the sakura syrup at its most present, use vodka. A good neutral vodka that is clean, not sweet.

Gin adds botanical complexity that echoes the cherry blossom. Hendrick’s, with its rose and cucumber notes, usually works, while Empress 1908, which already contains cherry blossom among its botanicals, creates a drink that doubles down on the floral and is a super fun color.

Either botanical gin turns this into a more layered, aromatic martini.

So, when you are deciding, remember that the vodka version is more delicate; the gin version has more going on.

The Dry Vermouth

Vermouth matters more in a three-ingredient stirred drink than anywhere else in cocktail making. Use something you’d sip on its own. Dolin Dry is the most commonly recommended, because it’s clean, lightly herbal, and doesn’t overpower.

Keep vermouth refrigerated after opening. An open bottle left out goes stale within a few weeks, and stale vermouth makes a really bad martini.

The 0.25 oz here is a light hand. This is closer to a dry martini than a classic ratio, but that small amount adds just enough herbaceous structure to keep the cherry blossom syrup from taking over the cocktail (not that vodka and cherry blossom syrup is a bad thing, it’s just different).

The Cherry Blossom Syrup

Cherry blossom syrup doesn’t taste like cherries, and you can make your own at home (check out my recipe. It’s super easy). It’s floral and delicate, with hints of rose water and honey, with a faint almond note. In a spirit-forward stirred drink with almost no dilution, that fragrance is very present.

For store-bought, the Floral Elixir Co. cherry blossom syrup has won awards and is made from real sakura extract with no artificial flavors.

Check out all of my simple syrups are on the site.

The Twist: One Drop of Vanilla Extract

Add one drop (not a splash, one drop) of pure vanilla extract to the mixing glass before you stir.

Vanilla contains an aromatic compound called vanillin, which amplifies floral and almond notes. In a drink built around cherry blossom syrup, which already has a faint almond quality, a single drop pulls that character forward, making the whole drink taste slightly more like marzipan.

You won’t taste vanilla. You’ll just notice the cherry blossom syrup has more depth than it did without it.

IMPORTANT: Use pure vanilla extract, not imitation.

How to Stir It

Fill a mixing glass with ice. Add the vodka or gin, cherry blossom syrup, dry vermouth, and vanilla drop if using. Stir with a long bar spoon for 20 to 30 seconds until very cold. Strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass.

Stirring rather than shaking matters. Shaking aerates the drink, creating tiny ice shards that dilute it faster. A stirred martini is colder, clearer, and more controlled. The texture is part is just better too.

The glass should be cold when the drink goes in. Put it in the freezer before you start stirring. At least 10 minutes is the preferred chill time for a glass.

What Glass to Use

The Nick and Nora glass is smaller and more contained than a standard martini glass, which means the drink stays colder longer and doesn’t feel unwieldy in your hand. I think it’s also prettier.

A few I use include these vintage looking Nick and Nora glasses, which are elegant and well-proportioned, and these have a slightly rounder bowl if you prefer more volume.

A coupe also works. A classic martini glass is fine, but the wide rim makes the drink warm faster.

I don’t know why I don’t prefer martini glasses, but for some reason, they just feel bulky, and I like to feel delicate, almost like I’m at a speakeasy in the 1920s.

Garnish

A lemon twist expressed over the glass before serving adds a faint citrus oil on the surface that plays nicely with the floral syrup. Use a channeling knife or a citrus peeler for a long, elegant curl.

A single fresh cherry blossom floated on the surface, if you have one from an untreated tree (or you soaked a salt preserved flower in water for 20 mins), is the perfect floral garnish for this drink.

Find more cocktail garnish ideas on the site.

The Mocktail Versions

There are two here: one for adults who want zero alcohol, one that kids will like.

Adult version (white tea base)

Brew a cup of white tea. Let it cool completely and then refrigerate. Combine 2 oz chilled white tea, 0.75 oz cherry blossom syrup, and 1 drop vanilla extract in a mixing glass with ice. Stir for 20 to 30 seconds and strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass.

White tea is used because it’s pale, very lightly flavored, and has a natural delicacy that mirrors the neutral vodka in the original. While you won’t mistake it for a drink with alcohol, it’s a genuinely elegant, alcohol-free drink that holds its own in the same glass.

Kids version (white grape juice base)

Combine 2 oz chilled white grape juice, 0.5 oz cherry blossom syrup, and 1 drop vanilla extract in a mixing glass with ice. Stir briefly and strain into a small chilled glass. Nick and Nora, if they want to feel fancy, or any short-stemmed glass you have.

I even put it in stemless wine glasses for my kids. They aren’t picky.

White grape juice has the right pale color and light sweetness, and the vanilla drop makes it taste a little more layered. Stirred, strained into a cold glass, garnished with a petal if you have one; even kids like to get fancy, especially at baby showers or wedding showers.

Cocktails That Use Cherry Blossom Syrup

• Cherry Blossom Bee’s Knees
• Cherry Blossom Quiet Old Fashioned
• Falling Petals Gimlet
• Herbal Sakura Garden
• Pear Sakura Collins
• Petal & Stone Sour
• Sakura Drift Martini
• Strawberry Sakura Smash
• Cherry Blossom Green Tea Spritz
• Lychee Blossom Spritz
• Lychee Sakura Martini
• Pink Grapefruit Sakura Sour
• Cherry Blossom French 75 — gin, cherry blossom syrup, lemon juice, topped with Champagne
• Sakura Spritz — cherry blossom syrup, prosecco, splash of soda, over ice

More spring cocktail recipes, organized by season.

Sakura Drift Martini

Glass: Nick and Nora | Yield: 1 cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 oz vodka or gin
• 0.75 oz cherry blossom syrup
• 0.25 oz dry vermouth

Twist: 1 drop pure vanilla extract, added to the mixing glass before stirring

Garnish: Lemon twist, or a single fresh cherry blossom floated on the surface

Instructions

1. Chill a Nick and Nora glass in the freezer for at least ten minutes.
2. Add the vodka or gin, cherry blossom syrup, dry vermouth, and vanilla extract if using, to a mixing glass
3. Add ice.
4. Stir with a long bar spoon for 20 to 30 seconds until very cold.
5. Strain into the chilled glass.
6. Express a lemon twist over the surface, then drop it in or rest it on the rim. Or float a fresh cherry blossom on top.