Espresso Martinis Are Having A mmmMoment

OMG, we know, we know… This may be the 100th time you’ve seen an article talking about the Espresso Martini craze that’s been ever-present for what seems like forever now. There are a couple of reasons. 

First, we think we’ve got a damn-near perfect Espresso Martini recipe. 

One that was an amalgamation of what our team looks for in flavor balance with our signature Organic Espresso 1940 Roast. This recipe came from a mixture of concepts and recipes that originated from various cocktail of the year awards for the Espresso Martini category. What we can tell you, is that the journey of getting to this final recipe was wildly (hiccup) fun, and totally worth the effort through the numerous tastings, trials, and tweaks.

Second, it’s our 30th Anniversary Year! 

Where does the time go!? 30 full years of being a beautiful part of this stunning community we live in, but also the community of coffee lovers who are part of our extended family all over the world. All this deserves a proper celebration with a proper drink.

Lastly, Halloween is upon us.

We all have our own versions of Tricks & Treats for this holiday. Whether you’re snuggled up with a loved one, partying with friends, or waiting up for the kids to get home from whatever trouble they’re getting into, this is the perfect addition to your night.

Let’s get into a little of the background.

The espresso martini, that sassy elixir of the night, was birthed in the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll era of the '80s by a London bar maestro, Dick Bradsell. According to legend, a famous model walked into the bar where Bradsell was working and asked for a drink that would "wake me up, and then f**k me up." Bradsell, with a shaker in hand and mischief in his eye, mixes vodka, a shot of wake-the-dead espresso, coffee liqueur, and a sneaky bit of sugar syrup. He pours this magic into a martini glass, probably thinking, "Here's your liquid wake-up call." Thus, the espresso martini was born - a drink that says, "I'm here to party, but I've got a meeting at 8 AM." It's the drink that survived the '90s cocktail scene to keep millennials and Gen Z caffeinated and slightly tipsy, ensuring they can dance all night and still make it to brunch. We strongly believe this was an upgrade from the previous nightlife staple of a Vodka & Red Bull. 

The Tipsy Journey to this Recipe

There are some amazing mixologists who have taken insane deep dives into the world of perfecting their version. While the general components of a traditional Espresso Martini remain the same, there are subtle touches from various masters that stuck out to us, and uniquely compliment the roast profile of our Organic Espresso 1940 which highlights dried berries, toasted nuts, and baker’s chocolate. We found the subtle addition of the vanilla liqueur from renowned mixologist Patrick Smith version from the Modern in New York, gave the cocktail a richer and ever so slight candied quality which we fell in love with. Additionally, adding a lemon peel to the shaker, such as world renowned Jeffrey Morgenthaler did at his eponymous spot Clyde Common in Portland, Or., gave a gentle touch of balance and sophistication that harkened us to enjoying an espresso at Cova in Milan on the Via Montenapoleone (pinkies up). It created a lovely harmony with the sweet elements in the drink. 

The key to anything is always in the quality of the ingredients. The espresso shot, the spirits, the sugar in your simple syrup. Below we’ll walk you through each and why we chose them for this special rendition. 

The Recipe:

3/4 oz Carmel Valley Coffee Organic Espresso 1940

3/4 oz  Giffard Vanille de Madagascar 

3/4 oz Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur

1 oz Nikka Coffey Vodka

1/4 oz Demerara syrup (1:1, demerara sugar:water)

1 Lemon Peel 

** TLDR put all the above in a shaker with ice, shake vigorously, and serve

1. Add ¾ oz of espresso to the shaker. We’re starting with the star of the show, our signature Organic Espresso 1940. As we touched on above, this was our base ingredient for our recipe. We wanted to tease out the richness of the roast profile and find perfect harmony in that coffee forward flavor with just enough sweetness and balance in the final product. When you pull your shot, be sure to swirl it around and bring it to room temperature so it doesn't melt the ice. You can pull your own shot at home or stop by any of our locations and we’ll fill up a to-go cup for you.

2. Add ¾ oz Giffard Vanille de Madagascar to the shaker. As the name suggests this liqueur is made from Madagascan Vanilla. The Giffard brand has been around in France since 1885. Based in the Loire, they have prided themselves on creating liqueurs of the highest quality. So many products on the market today taste like they’ve been synthesized. (For bananas fosters lovers, their Banane du Brésil will take the dish to another level. You can find their flavors here.)

3. Add ¾ oz of Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur to the shaker. The Mr. Black brand has really taken the Espresso Martini world by storm. They’ve won Gold in both the London and San Francisco International Wine & Spirits Competitions and are the coffee liqueur of choice in espresso martinis by famed mixologists. Born in Australia, the team there roasts the beans on-site and creates a concentrated cold brew that is later distilled into the final spirit. 

4. Add 1 oz Nikka Coffey Grain Vodka to the shaker. You might be wondering if the “Coffey” part of the name has anything to do with coffee. It does not. The Coffey is the type of still used to distill this particular vodka, which the Nikka legacy credits for the extremely smooth mouthfeel and delicate profile of the spirit. Corn & barley are separately distilled in Japan in various batches and carefully blended and then refined with white birch and charcoal by the master distillers. This vodka has a rich sweetness and milky profile which we felt was a winner for this cocktail. It doesn’t hurt to have “Coffey” in the name. 

5. Add ¼ oz Demerara Syrup to the shaker. While you can use any simple syrup, Demerara sugar adds a bit more of a caramel and molasses flavor profile which stands up to the espresso. To make simple syrup use a simple 1:1 ratio of sugar to water. Let simmer on your stove and store for later use. A suitable substitute would be turbinado or muscovado sugar.

6. Fill shaker with ice and 1 lemon peel. Shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Don’t be shy to put some elbow grease into this part as a firm shake will properly emulsify the ingredients, chill your drink, and give you that gorgeous foam head when you pour it in your cocktail coupes. 

7. Garnish with 3 coffee beans for bonus style points.   

Lastly, a note on ingredients. Since variety is the spice of life, feel free to swap out any of our recommendations with your favorite vodka, coffee liqeur, simple syrup, vanilla liqueur, etc. But for heaven’s sake don’t swap out the coffee! Has to be Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Company or ewwwwww. Just kidding of course, but you know we’d love and appreciate it. Please tag us if you are so inspired and shake one of these bad boys up soon. 

Lastly lastly, for those interested in the hand-hammered and hand-painted copper shaker in the shots above, here is a link to this very cool artisan company, Tepotztli, based in the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico.