The Espresso Martini

       

I have a friend called Graham Clark who plays in a band called Brilleaux. This post has very little to do with him. Not much at all really. But since I figured it was time for Tuesday's Cocktail and I was looking for a little pick-me-up I naturally reached for an Espresso Martini, a drink that has become absolutely ubiquitous in restaurants and bars over the past few years. And that took me to Graham's son Jason.

Jason is one of the world's leading cocktail-makers. He has won competitions. He has had all sorts of amazing adventures representing brands of high-end spirits. Currently I think he is a world brand ambassador for Talisker. That's pretty high cotton whoever you are...

Amongst other achievements, Jason has also written the definitive book on coffee cocktails, The Art & Craft Of Coffee Cocktails. It's a fascinating exploration, written very approachably and anecdotally but also very seriously. Jason really knows his stuff.

Of course the book starts with the most famous of all coffee cocktails, The Espresso Martini.

Allow me to quote his introduction:

Originally called The Pharmaceutical Stimulant and the Vodka Esspresso, the infamous Espresso Martini was created at Fred's Club, London, in the late 1980 by Dick Bradsell. [...] When a model approached him and asked for "something to wake me up, and f*** me up," Dick's response was to combine vodka, fresh espresso, coffee liqueur and sugar, and shake it to a frothy mix of bittersweet invigoration, strained into an elegant glass.  

Just as every good cocktail-maker adds their own little touch, I have adapted Jason's recipe to suit my taste: he uses a sugar syrup made from brown sugar - I prefer my coffee with white sugar and my martinis too so I've used regular simple syrup. And I've tweaked the coffee liqueur by using Kahlua Salted Caramel Coffee liqueur which gives an extra hit of complexity to the final product. It's also just fine with regular Kahlua or other coffee liqueurs - experiment!

ESPRESSO MARTINI

Ingredients

• 40ml Vodka
• 30ml fresh espresso
• 20ml Kahlua Salted Caramel Coffee liqueur (or other coffee liqueur)
  
• 10ml simple syrup (50/50 sugar/water)
  

Method

• Make the coffee in advance and allow to cool
• Shake all ingredients with ice
• Strain into a martini glass

NOTE: Yes, make the coffee in advance so it's cold when you put it in the shaker.

ANOTHER NOTE: The traditional garnish is three coffee beans (like the picture on the book) but I can't see the point of inedible garnishes so have dispensed with them.

LAST NOTE: Since there is nothing fresh in this it keeps really well. So you can make a big batch of the mix (don't shake it) and keep it in the fridge. Litre milk bottles are very good for this - simply pour it out in 100ml lots and shake it whenever you need it!