Espresso Martini: the recipe for a cocktail based on coffee and vodka in a martini glass

The Espresso Martini is a cold cocktail based on vodka, coffee liqueur, sugar syrup and espresso coffee, ideal to serve as an after dinner. The drink has a bitter taste because of coffee, as espresso and liqueur, then it's sweetened with sugar syrup. Vodka, on the other hand, does not add flavor but gives more texture to the cocktail. It is therefore not a real martini, but takes its name from the cup in which it is served.

Regarding the hypothesis of its origin, the most common is that it was created by Dick Brandsell, a bartender at the Freds Club in London, in the late 1980s, and initially called Vodka Espresso. The original recipe featured vodka, two types of coffee liqueur, including Kahlua, an espresso coffee, and sugar syrup. Let’s see how to prepare a perfect Espresso Martini.

Tips

Usually the Espresso Martini is served with three coffee beans, arranged on the creamy surface of the cocktail.

Espresso Martini is the ideal cocktail both for winter, to "warm up", but also in summer, served with ice flakes.

With the Espresso Martini you can also make an excellent affogato coffee, just put some ice cream in a bowl and add a cube of Espresso Martini, add the hot coffee on top and enjoy.

How to combine Espresso Martini

Espresso Martini is ideal as an after-dinner drink and goes perfectly with desserts such as zuppa inglese, but also with mud cake, an American chocolate cake coated with a dark chocolate glaze. In general it is excellent with chocolate desserts.

How to make Espresso Martini

Freeze the martini glass with ice cubes and prepare the espresso coffee.

Put 4 ice cubes, vodka, coffee liqueur, sugar syrup and a cup of espresso coffee in the shaker. Shake vigorously for one minute.

Remove the ice from the cup and pour the cocktail filtering it with the strainer. Garnish with a few coffee beans. Serve and enjoy!