The Absolute Best Liqueurs For Chocolate Martinis

If you're in search of a festive, decadent cocktail for holiday entertaining and wintertime cozying-up, look no further than Elizabeth Taylor's favorite tipple, the chocolate martini. It seamlessly combines some grown-up boozy fun with the childhood nostalgia of a sweet treat. Of course, you don't want to veer so far into sweet territory that you end up with something too cloying. A good chocolate martini is about balance and textures, which often comes down to using the right chocolate liqueur. 

There are several popular chocolate liqueur options out there, so we looked to an expert for help navigating them. According to Lynnette Marrero, a renowned mixologist recently honored as part of the inaugural New York Bartender Week, you can either lean into fuller, creamier mouthfeels and flavor options or you can focus on a more straightforward delivery of chocolate flavor. "If I want something rich and creamy, I like to use Mozart Chocolate Liqueur," Marrero says. "They have chocolate, white chocolate, [and] dark chocolate." 

Mozart's liqueurs are crafted in Austria from a base of cocoa, vanilla, and sugar beet, which serves as both a natural sweetener and a distillate for the alcohol. Then, depending on the flavor, add-ins like chocolate, cocoa butter-spiked cream, and caramel boost the liqueur's full, velvety consistency. This will give your martinis a luxurious melted milkshake effect, and other varieties from Mozart offer the opportunity to play with flavors, like strawberry, coffee, coconut, and pumpkin spice.

If you want slightly less body but an intense bittersweet chocolate flavor, Lynnette Marrero has the answer. "If I just want chocolate flavor, I love using crème de cacao," she says. "I like Tempus Fugit or Giffard." Crème de cacao doesn't actually have any cream in it, but it still has a silky, full mouthfeel. It's made from cocoa beans and a base spirit like vodka or whiskey, often employing vanilla, too. For example, the Tempus Fugit brand Marrero suggests sources ingredients that are considered to be the best available in the world, such as cacao from Venezuela and vanilla from Mexico. The company distills the cacao and then soaks that with even more cacao and crushed vanilla beans. 

Crème de cacao brings to the table rich, subtly bitter chocolate and vanilla sweetness, and a hint of boozy warmth. A bottle like Tempus Fugit or Giffard establishes a nice, full — but not overly rich — chocolate base for your martini, which leaves potential for other flavor twists you might want to add. You can make a next-level chocolate martini by adding a splash of vanilla vodka, for instance, really enhancing that sweet balance. Or, you can try nearly limitless creative garnish options to elevate your chocolate 'tini, from salted caramel rims to honeycomb to strawberries. Whether you go full dessert with a Mozart cocktail or stick to a classic chocolate martini with crème de cacao, you're guaranteed to satisfy your guests' sweet tooth.