The Espresso Martini

A staple in every bar is the Espresso Martini, but are they all made correctly?

The results may shock you… Often when someone walks up to the bartender and says “Can you make an Espresso Martini?” the answer is always “yeah we can” to some degree. This doesn’t imply if the cocktail is freshly brewed espresso, just coffee liqueur, mixed with Kahlúa for a desert style drink, etc. There’s tons of variations and you never know what you will get.

The real Espresso Martini was invented by Dick Bradsell in 1983 at Fred’s Club, after he was asked by a model for something to “wake me up then fuck me up”.

The Espresso Martini

• 2 oz. (60mL) vodka
• 0.5 oz. (15mL) coffee liqueur
• 1 oz. (30mL) freshly brewed espresso (I just use my Nespresso)
• 0.25 oz. (7.5 mL) simple syrup

Steps:

1. Add the vodka, coffee liqueur, espresso, and simple syrup into a shaker
2. Add ice and shake vigorously to get the espresso frothy
3. Take a chilled coupe glass and strain the cocktail into it
4. It will look strange at first but after around 10-20 seconds all the foam should incorporate up top to a nice smooth width.
5. Garnish with a few coffee beans and drink!

I reccommend using a good vodka and quality espresso. Usually we use Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur as this is not as “desserty” as something like Kahlúa. But if you want it sweeter and more chocolatey than feel free to use as such!

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