Lychee Martini

This is one of my favorite martinis. I'm going to put two different recipes. One will be a traditional martini while the other one will be a bit of a short cut. Here is how it is traditionally made.:

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 cup drained canned lychees (15 to 20, from a 16- to 20-oz can)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

6 oz (3/4 cup) vodka (preferI used Grey Goose)

1 1/2 oz (3 tablespoons) Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur

Instructions

1. Heat sugar and water in a 1-quart saucepan over high heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, then pour into a heatproof bowl set in a large bowl of ice and cold water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until syrup is cold, about 3 minutes.

2. Purée lychees with sugar syrup and lemon juice in a blender until smooth, then force through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on solids and then discarding them.

3. Fill cocktail shaker halfway with ice cubes and add lychee purée, vodka, and Cointreau. Shake 15 seconds and strain into Martini glasses.

Now here's my lazy version. This one I use for my mom since she happens to be the biggest light weight I've ever encountered.  In the cocktail shaker pour 1/2 a cup of the lychee juice from the can. Add a shot of vodka (or half a shot when it comes to my mother), a tablespoon of agave, squeeze a little bit of lemon juice and toss in some ice cubes. Shake for a few seconds and then strain into Martini glasses.  You could garnish with a few whole lychees from the can. You could also rim the glass with sugar or as in the case of my picture some coconut and sugar.