Cocktail recipe · Vodka · Coffee
Vodka, coffee liqueur and a fresh shot of espresso, shaken hard until it wears a thick, creamy foam. Here's the classic spec, how bartenders make it on a busy night, and the habits that keep it from going flat.
The recipe
Legal pour sizes and limits vary by state and by bar, so check your state's rules and your bar's specs.
Fill a coupe with ice water, or park it in the freezer, while you build the drink.
Let the shot sit for a minute so it doesn't melt your ice before you shake.
Add the vodka, coffee liqueur, espresso and simple syrup, if you're using it.
Fill the tin with ice and shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds. This is where the foam comes from.
Dump the ice water from the glass, then strain through a fine strainer so the top stays smooth.
Float three coffee beans on the foam.
You'll need: Shaker tins, a jigger, a Hawthorne strainer and a fine strainer.
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Behind the bar
The spec is the easy part. These are the habits that separate a great espresso martini from a flat one.
When a guest asks what's in it
“Vodka, coffee liqueur and a fresh shot of espresso, shaken until it's nice and frothy.”
Guests order it both ways. Up means shaken and strained into a chilled coupe. On the rocks means strained over fresh ice in a rocks glass, with a straw. That's how the first one was served.
A freshly pulled shot gives the drink its kick and balances the sweetness. Plenty of bars cut this corner, which makes it the easiest way for yours to stand out.
Let it sit for a minute. Hot espresso poured straight into the tin melts your ice and waters the drink down.
The foam comes from the shake. Short, lazy shakes give you a flat top, so give it 12 to 15 hard seconds.
They're said to stand for health, wealth and happiness. It's a good line when a guest asks.
Bar Ready has a bonus lesson on real espresso. See what's inside
Our house version
It took off the day our bar opened, and it's still the best-selling cocktail we've ever had. We make ours with real espresso and swap the usual cream liqueur for a maple cream you won't see on most menus.
The recipe is in Bar Ready, along with the rest of our cocktail specs.
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Send me the free menusThe story
It started in 1980s London as the Vodka Espresso, and it isn't technically a martini at all.
1980s
Bartender Dick Bradsell mixes vodka, fresh espresso and a little sugar syrup, serves it on the rocks with three coffee beans, and calls it the Vodka Espresso. As the story goes, a guest he took to be a model had asked for a drink that would wake her up and then get her drunk.
1997
It makes it onto a printed menu, now made with coffee liqueur and served up in a stemmed glass.
Late 1990s
London bars start calling anything in a martini glass a martini, and the Vodka Espresso becomes the Espresso Martini.
1998–2003
Bradsell serves it on the rocks again, under a new name: the Pharmaceutical Stimulant.
Today
The International Bartenders Association lists it as one of its official cocktails, in its New Era category.
Variations
Shake the same spec and strain it over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Add a straw.
Add ½ oz of a cream liqueur for a richer, dessert-style drink, and skip the syrup.
Swap the vodka for a reposado tequila. Its oak and vanilla notes play well with coffee.
Use a strong cold brew concentrate. The flavor holds up, but the foam will be lighter.
Questions people ask
It's usually the shake. Fill the tin with ice and shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds. Fresh espresso helps too, and double straining keeps the top smooth.
Yes. A strong cold brew concentrate works in place of espresso. The flavor holds up, but the foam will be lighter.
This spec is about 1.7 U.S. standard drinks: 2 oz of 40% vodka and 1 oz of a 20% coffee liqueur add up to about 1 oz of pure alcohol. It has a full shot of espresso in it too, so expect the caffeine.
Not really. There's no gin or vermouth in it. It picked up the name in London's late-'90s 'tini craze, when drinks served in a martini glass got called martinis.
A chilled coupe or martini glass when it's served up, or a rocks glass with a straw when it's on the rocks.
They're said to stand for health, wealth and happiness. Mostly, they look good on the foam.
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