Drinkers have been ‘blessing’ their hot drinks with spirits for as long as the two drinks have been available, but only in the last decade or so have we seen the meteoric rise of the espresso martini.
It’s the sweet spot in the Venn diagram between caffeine and cocktails—where a party-goer can enjoy a bit of wake-up juice without interrupting their alcohol vibe.
The good news is you don’t have to be somewhere with a full bar to make your own espresso martini. And the even better news is you can make yours with superb Australian craft spirits too!
Here’s how to make an espresso martini.
- 60ml Australian vodka
- 30ml cool or chilled espresso coffee
- 20ml Aussie coffee liqueur
- A pinch of salt
- Coffee beans to garnish
Pour the vodka, coffee, coffee liqueur and salt into a cocktail shaker full of ice and shake vigorously until the sides of the shaker are frosty.
Tap the sides of the shaker to allow the crema foam to rise to the top, then strain the liquid into a cocktail glass. Tap the shaker as you pour to condense the foam so it floats, then carefully drop the coffee beans onto the surface.
Which vodka should you use?
There are over 50 Aussie craft vodkas on the market, so you have plenty of options. Some of these vodkas will be quite strongly flavoured, so bear that in mind when you choose.
You might want a plain vodka to act as a base for your martini.
Having said that, many of the flavoured vodkas like the Timboon Snake Track Vanilla Vodka, which isn’t sweet and will add a lovely tone to the martini.
Or if you want a citrus hint to your espresso martini, Stone Pine Distillery’s Native Citrus Vodka would bring out high notes in the coffee without sweetening the drink.
Which coffee liqueur should you use?
There are also plenty of Australian craft coffee liqueurs around, all of which are way better than the bog standard mass-produced ones from overseas.
Made with fair-trade Honduran coffee and hand-crafted vodka, Antipodes’ Espresso small-batch spirit is also Australia’s first certified organic coffee liqueur.
For something with a little more sweetness, Vok’s Coffee Liqueur uses Arabica beans to create a rich, exotic flavour in their spirit.
And if you want to go really artisanal, Belgrove Distillery’s Black Rye Coffee Liqueur, which is made with hand-crafted grappa and white rye new-make, is a rich, luxurious spirit purpose-built for espresso martinis.
And if you don’t want the hassle of making your own, why not invest in a whole litre of ready-to-drink espresso martini from the Aussie Tipple Company.
Made with Belgrove’s white rye instead of vodka and also the Black Rye for coffee liqueur—not to mention cold-extracted coffee by Victorian-based firm Little Drippa—this is the epitome of an Aussie espresso martini.
You just chill, serve and chill!
