Cocktail · Medium strength
Espresso Martini
Vodka, coffee liqueur, fresh espresso. The drink that says the night isn't over.
How to order it: Shake hard for the crema. Three beans on top for luck; a cracked cardamom pod if you're current.
Flavor profile
The recipe
- 1½ oz vodka
- 1 oz fresh espresso
- ¾ oz coffee liqueur
- ¼ oz simple syrup
- Shake hard; coupe; 3 beans
The story
London, 1983, the Soho Brasserie: bartender Dick Bradsell, by his own telling, was asked by a young model for something that would wake her up and then mess her up — her phrasing was saltier. With the coffee machine crowding his station, he shook vodka, coffee liqueur, sugar, and a fresh espresso into what he called the Vodka Espresso. The Martini name and glass came later, during the 1990s craze for calling anything stemmed a Martini. It faded, then roared back in the 2020s as the defining drink of the going-out-again era. It endures because it makes a promise no other cocktail makes: the night is not over.
Modern variations
The Espresso Martini cast a long shadow. These pours carry the torch:
Adjacent pours
Carajillo
Cocktail
Espresso over Licor 43 — Mexico City's favorite way to end dinner and restart the night.
Irish Coffee
Cocktail
Hot coffee, Irish whiskey, brown sugar, cold cream — weather insurance in a glass.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Wine
Blackcurrant, cedar, and tannic conviction. A wine that argues back.