Make this smooth and creamy easy chai martini in just five minutes with a few ingredients! I personally love this chai cocktail because even beginner bartenders can whip it up at home.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my extremely popular creamy matcha martini!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Smooth and Creamy - This chai spice cocktail strikes the balance of richness and smooth sophistication with tea, milk, gin, and amaretto liqueur. You'll definitely feel like that girl while sipping it!
Classic Chai Flavor - The chaitini tastes like an iced chai latte aka chai tea latte in the Western world. You'll taste masala chai spice notes like ginger and cardamom, lightly sweetened, rounded out by nuttiness, and without vermouth.
We love chai flavored beverages around here, including my chai old fashioned, chai latte eggnog and the warm cookie butter chai.
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Instant Chai Powder is made of black tea and masala chai spices and comes together in just a few minutes. Alternatively, you can use a chai tea bag.
Milk provides that creamy texture with a beautiful frothy top and you can use the milk of your choosing except for buttermilk.
Amaretto Liqueur adds slightly sweet nuttiness that perfectly complements chai spices. For a lower alcohol cocktail, use orgeat or almond syrup instead.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Liquor - I make my chai martini with gin but you can also make a great chaitini with vodka--your choice!
Vegan - Be sure to use a vegan friendly amaretto and plant based milk to make this chai latte martini recipe vegan.
Garnish - Have as much fun as you want with the cocktail garnishes! Add extra flair with nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, star anise, chocolate shavings, and more.
Dirty - I think of this tea cocktail as the mellow cousin to an espresso martini because of the lower caffeine content. But you could also make a dirty chai martini with espresso powder added in the same step as the chai powder.
How to Make a Chai-tini at Home
Step One: Place a coupe glass into the fridge or freezer to chill.
Step Two: Dissolve chai powder in hot water.
Pro Tip: Chilling the glass is an optional step but key to the frosted appearance of a classic martini so I recommend it for making any flavored martini at home.
Step Three: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until cold and frothy.
Step Four: Strain liquid into chilled coupe glass.
Pro Tip: Use a jigger to measure out the liquid ingredients or, if you don't have one, a standard shot glass works well!
Step Five: Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg and star anise, if desired.
Try my amaretto pistachio martini next and my champagne martini for special occasions!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can mix it a day or two ahead of time and let it chill until ready to serve. When you're ready to drink, shake it up again then add the garnish.
Make four ounces of chai then combine with one cup of milk, ¾ cup gin, 3 ounces maple syrup, and two ounces amaretto liqueur and shake or stir over ice. This pitcher chai martini recipe makes four servings. If you need more, you can adjust the settings in my recipe card to multiply by the number of servings you want to make!
Instead of straining into a coupe glass, divide the liquid evenly between four standard shot glasses to make a round of chai martini shots.
More Favorite Flavored Martini Recipes
I hope you'll enjoy a creamy spiced chai martini soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me on Pinterest.
📖 Recipe
Creamy Chai Martini
Equipment
- 1 jigger or shot glass
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon instant chai powder or one chai tea bag
- 1 ounce hot water
- ice
- 2 ounces milk
- 1 ½ ounce gin
- ¾ ounce maple syrup
- ½ ounce amaretto liqueur
- nutmeg optional garnish
- 1 star anise optional garnish
Instructions
- Place a coupe glass into the refrigerator or freezer to chill.
- Dissolve chai powder in hot water. If using a tea bag, steep in hot water for 5-10 minutes then squeeze out liquid and remove.
- Add tea, milk, gin, maple syrup, and amaretto liqueur to a cocktail shaker over ice. Cover and shake vigorously until cold to touch and liquid is frothy.
- Strain liquid into chilled coupe glass.
- Garnish with fresh grated nutmeg and star anise, if desired. Serve immediately and enjoy responsibly.
Krysten says
This chaitini was amazing! I used a chai tea bag because I could not find the powder. The nutmeg was perfect, I also added a pinch of cinnamon and vanilla because I love those flavors. Such a nice drink for a night cap in this cold weather.
Jazzmine Woodard says
So glad you enjoyed this drink, Krysten! The flavors are definitely great with vanilla.
Marta says
I really enjoyed the soul of this chai martini. The instant chai powder gave this cool cocktail warmth that is amazing.