The Breakfast Martini isn’t actually a martini, and it isn’t really for breakfast either. It’s just too good a name to argue with.
The Story: A Marmalade Toast at the Lanesborough
Salvatore Calabrese invented the Breakfast Martini in 1996 while working at the Library Bar in London’s Lanesborough Hotel. The origin story is almost annoyingly domestic: his wife Sue kept pushing toast and marmalade on him at breakfast, he wasn’t interested, and one morning the flavor finally clicked. He took a jar of marmalade to work and started experimenting behind the bar.
What he landed on is structurally a White Lady (gin, orange liqueur, lemon juice) with a spoonful of orange marmalade shaken in for sweetness, bitterness, and a bit of texture.
From the Lanesborough to 40,000 Feet
I think this is such a fun detail: the Breakfast Martini didn’t stay a London secret for long at all. It’s actually on Emirates’ First and Business Class cocktail menu now, made onboard with Sipsmith London Dry Gin, orange marmalade, Cointreau, and a splash of citrus.
Picking Gin and Marmalade That Actually Work Together
This is a three-ingredient drink dressed up as four, so ingredient quality matters more than usual. For the gin, reach for something citrus-forward rather than heavily botanical — Tanqueray or Bombay Sapphire both play nicely with the orange notes instead of fighting them. Calabrese’s own bar uses Cointreau rather than a generic triple sec, and it’s worth the upgrade here since the orange liqueur is doing real work alongside the marmalade, not just filling out the abv.
On the marmalade side, skip anything too sweet or too chunky. A fine-cut, bitter English marmalade (Calabrese has specifically namechecked Wilkin & Sons) dissolves cleanly in the shaker and gives you that bittersweet backbone. A thick-cut, jammy supermarket marmalade will just clog your strainer and taste flat. If you’re building out a full gin cocktail rotation, our gin cocktails guide has more on which bottles suit which styles.
Variations Worth Shaking Up
If you’re ready to play, here are some lovely ways to make this your own:
- Branch out into other preserves. This little cocktail kicked off a whole trend of jam-and-preserve drinks, so apricot or raspberry versions built the same lovely way are wonderful to explore next.
- Use homemade marmalade. It’s such a gorgeous upgrade because you get to control the bitterness and push it more Seville-orange sharp than most shop jars allow.
- Try a breakfast margarita. Swap the gin for a reposado tequila and you get something rounder and more agave-forward, while keeping that same marmalade magic.
- Swap lemon for lime. A small change that brightens the whole drink in a fun new direction.
- Add a bar spoon of orange bitters. Perfect if you want an extra little pop of citrus sparkle.
What to Serve Alongside It
Lean into the breakfast bit for real. This pairs naturally with anything you’d find on an English breakfast table: buttered toast and good marmalade (obviously), smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, or a proper full English if you’re going all in on brunch. It’s sharp enough to cut through rich, savoury food without getting lost next to it, which is more than you can say for a lot of brunch cocktails.
FAQ
Is a Breakfast Martini actually a martini? No. It’s a gin sour in a martini glass — there’s no vermouth involved, which is what actually makes a martini a martini.
Can I make it with vodka instead of gin? You can, but you’ll lose the botanical backbone that plays off the marmalade. If you want a softer version, a citrus-forward gin is still the better trade than switching to vodka entirely.
Why Lush Life Loves It
The marmalade doesn’t just sweeten the drink, it thickens it slightly and adds a bitter orange-peel edge that a simple syrup could never fake. It is one of those drinks that feels simple but has a clever touch behind it which only the Maestro would have, which probably explains why it has stuck around.
Here is the recipe
Breakfast Martini
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces Gin
- 1/2 ounce Orange liqueur
- 3/4 ounce Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 barspoon orange marmalade
- Lemon wheel
Instructions
- Add the gin, orange liqueur, lemon juice, and marmalade to a shaker
- Add ice
- Shake, shake, shake
- Double strain into a chilled Martini glass
- Garnish with a lemon wheel
