Make the best espresso martini with these fantastic recipes

According to Liquor.com, the espresso martini isn’t a martini at all because it isn’t made with gin or vermouth. When taking a deeper dive, it seems martinis that don’t involve gin and vermouth are nothing more than good mixed drinks in a martini glass. Who knew?

Don’t think for a minute that we’re going to change our minds about martinis. Some people just don’t like the taste or flavor of gin and that’s OK. Look, we know there are purists out there and they may have a thing or two to say about how a martini should be made, but that’s what test kitchens are for. Experiment with whatever you have on hand. Who knows, you may discover the next TikTok recipe sensation and go viral.

The story goes that bartender Dick Bradsell was approached by a customer stating she needed “something to wake me up and f**k me up.” That’s when he turned to the espresso coffee machine and created the chilled cocktail using vodka.

The variations of recipes have certainly made their rounds because 40-some years later, espresso martini cocktails are still all the rage. Even Kahlúa picked up on the trend and it has been used in drinks ever since. Read on for the best espresso martini recipes.

Kona Pipeline martini recipe

Kona Pipeline Porter is made from Hawaiian-grown coffee. The brewing company was founded on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1994 by a father and son team. We all know Hawaii has some of the most beautiful shorelines, so it’s no wonder Kona Pipeline Porter was inspired by Oahu’s North Shore.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces Kona’s Pipeline Porter
• 1 ounce rum
• 1 ounce cold brew coffee
• 1 ounce macadamia nut syrup (Monin)
• Edible purple flower for garnish

Method

1. Combine all ingredients, except the porter, in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
2. Shake to chill and combine ingredients.
3. Double strain into a sours glass.
4. Top with Kona Pipeline Porter.
5. Garnish and enjoy!

Espresso martini recipe

This espresso martini recipe is courtesy of Ketel One and Charles Joly of The Café Crimson. Ketel One uses carefully selected wheat where the vodka is then distilled in a copper pot and filtered over charcoal. Did you know Ketel One is named after the original copper pot still that it was created in? It was called Distilleerketel #1.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces Ketel One Vodka
• 1/4 ounce raspberry liqueur
• 1 1/2 ounces black cherry Kenyan cold brew (below)
• 1/2 ounce unrefined coconut sugar syrup
• 15 drops saline solution (1:5 ratio salt to water)

For the salted-vanilla oat milk

• About 2 cups, 500 ml oat milk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the black cherry Kenyan cold brew

• Chill 60 grams coarse ground coffee steeped in 500 ml black cherry juice in the fridge for 24 hours

Method

1. Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well.
2. Strain the contents of the shaker into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Carefully layer salted vanilla oat milk on top.
4. Express oils from a lemon twist and place it decoratively on the rim.

Grey Goose espresso martini recipe

Grey Goose started out in France somewhere in the 1990s and uses 100% traceable wheat that can be tracked from the crop all the way to the cork. The frosted bottle only knows vodka because each bottle, down to the cork, is washed with Grey Goose. One of their statements is: “if you need to distill more than once, you need better ingredients.”

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces Grey Goose Vodka
• 1 ounce single-origin espresso
• 3/4 ounce coffee liqueur
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.
2. Garnish with three coffee beans.

Media Noche espresso martini recipe

Not sure if you knew this or not, but D’USSÉ VSOP cognac was founded by Jay-Z, with the help of cellar master, Michel Casavecchia. If you’re unfamiliar with cognac, it is wine-based and made from the cognac region of France using white grapes from specific (and approved) regions and is then distilled, and finally aged for a minimum of two years in French oak casks.

Ingredients

• 2 parts D’USSÉ VSOP Cognac
• 1 1/2 parts café Bustelo Espresso (chilled)
• 3/4 part simple syrup
• 1/2 part half and half
• 1/2 part coconut milk

Method

1. Add D’USSÉ, espresso, simple syrup, half and half, and coconut milk into a shaker with ice.
2. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Peanut butter espresso martini recipe

The Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey was born from a husband and wife team in California. Made solely from peanuts and peanut butter, the drink is a real twist on the classic.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey
• 1/2 ounce coffee liqueur
• 1 1/2 ounces freshly brewed espresso

Method

1. Shake ingredients vigorously and strain into a martini glass.
2. Garnish with three coffee beans.

Averna Sicilian espresso martini

Amaro Averna has been around a few (hundred) years, starting somewhere in the 1860s by the Benedictine Monks. They surely took a vow of silence when asked about the recipe because it’s still a secret. Luckily for us, it was eventually passed down, and the recipe remains virtually unchanged from the day it was created. It’s infused with herbs and has notes of orange, licorice, rosemary, and sage (plus a few more).

Ingredients

• 1 ounce Amaro Averna
• 1/2 ounce Espolón Blanco
• 1/4 ounce dark crème de cacao
• 1/2 ounce orgeat
• 1 1/2 ounces cold espresso
• 3 dashes chocolate bitters

Method

1. Shake very hard and strain.
2. Place in a large coupe.
3. Garnish with coffee beans and a side dish of unsalted toasted almonds.

SelvaRey espresso martini

This recipe banks on the richness of chocolate rum, which does quite well with the bitter and nutty kick of espresso and the mint. The drink is proof that the espresso martini is more of a fluid concept than a fixed drink with a single rigid recipe. Plus, we just plain like rum (like, a lot).

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces SelvaRey Chocolate Rum
• 3/4 ounces coffee liqueur
• 1/4 ounce Creme de Menthe
• 1 ounce espresso

Method

1. Combine ingredients in a shaker tin with ice.
2. Shake and stain into a martini glass.
3. Garnish with three coffee beans.

Can’t decide whether you like coffee or booze more? You don’t need to. Check out the best coffee beans on the market and the best coffee cocktails to whip up at home.

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