Modern ClassicsFall

Espresso Martini

This spec: Dante, New York; the drink created by Dick Bradsell, Soho Brasserie, London, 1980s

The Espresso Martini is vodka, fresh espresso and coffee liqueur, shaken hard until a thick crema forms. It is rich, bitter and energizing, with a dusting of cocoa on top. A Black Friday pick-me-up.

  • GlassMartini
  • MethodShaken
  • Ingredients4
Espresso Martini

Ingredients

Making a batch?
Servings
A light dusting of cocoa powderGarnish
Total volume—

Directions

  1. Dry shake all ingredients without ice.
  2. Add ice and shake hard again.
  3. Double strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a chilled cocktail glass.

ToolsJiggerShakerHawthorne strainerFine strainerMartini glass

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History

Dick Bradsell created the drink at the Soho Brasserie in London in the 1980s, around 1983 to 1985, after a customer asked for something to wake her up. He first called it the Vodka Espresso, made with vodka, espresso and sugar. Coffee liqueur and the stemmed glass came later, and the Espresso Martini name took hold by the late 1990s. This spec is the one served at Dante in New York.

Making a batch? Scale it for a crowd, add dilution water, and see how many bottles to buy.
Quick sizes
How are you making it? ⓘ Batching includes dilution water. Pre-batched cocktails need added water to replace the melt from stirring or shaking. We use Jeffrey Morgenthaler's standard: 18% for spirit-forward drinks, 25% for shaken.

What you'll need to buy

Based on 750ml bottles (25.4 oz), rounded up.

Bottle math, generally

750ml bottle25.4 oz
2 oz pours per bottle12 cocktails
1.5 oz pours per bottle16 cocktails
1 oz =29.6 ml
This recipe per 750ml of spirit—

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