British · Cocktail
Espresso Martini
Two ounces of vodka, half an ounce of coffee liqueur, one shot of fresh hot espresso and a quarter ounce of simple syrup, shaken hard enough to build the foam.
Photo: LAVA / Pexels
Ingredients
- 2 oz Grey Goose vodka
- 0.5 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur
- 1 shot fresh hot espresso
- 0.25 oz simple syrup
- Three coffee beans, to garnish
Method
- Pull a fresh shot of espresso. It has to be hot and it has to be fresh, or you get no foam.
- Put everything into a shaker with plenty of ice.
- Shake hard for fifteen seconds, longer than feels necessary. That is what builds the crema on top.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe and float three coffee beans on the foam.
The one thing that matters
The foam is the whole point and it only comes from fresh hot espresso hitting cold ice. That's a physical reaction between the coffee oils and the air you beat into it, which is why instant coffee gives you a flat brown drink and cold brew gives you almost nothing.
About this drink
Shake for fifteen seconds, longer than feels necessary. Most disappointing espresso martinis are just undershaken.
Double-strain into a chilled coupe. Chill the glass properly first, because a warm glass collapses the foam you just spent fifteen seconds making.
It was invented in London in the eighties when a model asked a bartender for something that would wake her up and mess her up, which remains the most honest brief a drink has ever been given.
Three coffee beans on the foam is traditional, and they're said to stand for health, wealth and happiness. Mostly they smell good as you lift the glass.
Worth knowing: swap the vodka for a dark rum or an aged tequila and both are better than they sound. Cut the syrup entirely if your coffee liqueur is already sweet.
It's the drink for the part of the evening where everyone has eaten and nobody wants to go home yet.
