The Espresso Martini is a classic for a reason - it’s unbelievably delicious! The story goes that this modern classic was invented by legendary British bartender and “cocktail king” Dick Bradsell in the 1980s after a famous supermodel demanded: “Can you please make something that will wake me up and then {****} me up?"!
We can’t know how said supermodel rated the drink against that, um, very particular request, but she obviously enjoyed it, as the Espresso Martini caught on as quickly and globally as any of the hottest catwalk fashions. (Thankfully, its popularity has also long outlived other top ‘80s trends for mullets, shoulder pads and bumbags… what were we thinking?!)
So, how to take a now-classic cocktail and make it even better? Well, we’ve given it a shot! A shot of gin, that is (sorry).
Yes, we’ve used gin as a substitute for vodka and created a tipple that is just as delicious as the original recipe. Dare we say, it might even be… even more tasty?
If you’ve got an espresso maker at home to produce your coffee, fantastic; here, we’ve included some tips on how to get the best results even if you don’t have a fancy machine in the kitchen!
So, whether you’re looking for a quick pick-me-up to fire you up, or a lovely elegant drink to sip on over dessert, we think you couldn’t do any better than this fabulous Gin Espresso Martini. Let us know what you think!
Gin Espresso Martini
50ml gin
15ml coffee liqueur
30ml coffee*
Coffee beans, to garnish (optional)
Pack a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all your ingredients. Shake energetically to create an airy foam for the top of your drink. Strain confidently into a chilled cocktail glass (pouring quickly will also help keep that foam on the top). Garnish with two or three coffee beans, if you have them.
As always, play around with the ratios to suit your own personal taste - you might want to add a little more liqueur, or even a dash of simple syrup, if you have a sweet tooth, for example.
For the coffee liqueur, you could use Kahlúa if you already have it at home (a mixture of rum and coffee); we prefer Borghetti Espresso Liqueur, a very elegant, sophisticated sweet liqueur from Milan made using real Robusta and Arabic coffee!
Buy all the ingredients you need to make an Espresso Gin Martini in our shop!
*If you don’t have an espresso maker:
To create a lovely foam-capped coffee similar to traditional espresso, try to use a stove-top coffee maker (such as the Moka Pot), which will release a little of those coffee oils that you usually only get from an espresso machine. Just make the coffee as you would usually and heat over medium heat until ready.
Alternatively, you can also use a cafetiere, which is what we’ve done below. Our top tips:
You’ll need to use a little bit more ground coffee than you would for a standard cup of coffee to drink, to make it concentrated enough for your cocktail.
We recommend using 20 grams of coffee (we love Pact Coffee for an authentic espresso flavour) with 100ml boiling water, then leaving to infuse in the cafetiere for at least five minutes (ideally up to eight minutes) before straining the liquid.
Pop the liquid in the fridge to chill before using in your ginny espesso martini cocktails. This will help minimise dilution - and give you a beautiful, ice-cold cocktail, too, of course!
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