The Espresso Martini: Why It's Having a Moment
2024-11-15 · 5 min read
The Espresso Martini was invented in the 1980s by London bartender Dick Bradsell when a customer asked for something that would wake her up and mess her up simultaneously. For decades it was considered a relic of the cocktail dark ages, too sweet, too gimmicky, and deeply uncool. Then around 2022, it came roaring back with a vengeance that caught the cocktail establishment completely off guard.
The resurgence was driven by a perfect storm of factors. Coffee culture had matured to the point where quality espresso was widely available, even in bars. Vodka, which had spent years losing ground to gin and tequila, needed a vehicle. And a new generation of drinkers discovered that caffeine and alcohol together feel exactly as good as Dick Bradsell's customer suspected.
The standard recipe is simple: two ounces of vodka, one ounce of fresh espresso, half an ounce of coffee liqueur, and a quarter ounce of simple syrup, shaken hard with ice and double-strained into a coupe. The vigorous shaking creates the signature foam top, and the three coffee beans garnish completes the aesthetic. Use fresh espresso, not cold coffee, or do not bother.
Bars have elevated the drink beyond its basic form. Mr. Black, the Australian cold brew liqueur, became a bartender favorite for replacing Kahlua, offering less sweetness and more genuine coffee flavor. Some bars use aged rum instead of vodka. Others add vanilla, cardamom, or even a saline solution to amplify the coffee notes.
The numbers are staggering. The Espresso Martini became the most ordered cocktail in multiple major cities by 2024, overtaking the Margarita in several markets. Nielsen data showed espresso martini-related products growing at double-digit percentages year over year. The drink Dick Bradsell threw together on the spot became one of the defining cocktails of the decade.
