Espresso Martini recipe
An Espresso Martini is a classic and well-known coffee cocktail, which is loved worldwide. Its strong, sweet and delicious taste, topped with a creamy, foamy top, makes it perfect as an after-dinner cocktail to serve your guests. Garnish the Espresso Martini with some coffee beans to make it truly sophisticated. We from Galliano are happy to share the true Italian Espresso Martini recipe for this delicious experience with you.
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Espresso Martini ingredients
30ml Galliano Espresso
30ml Vodka
30ml Espresso
10ml simple syrup
3 Coffee beans to garnish
1 0z Galliano Espresso
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Espresso
1/4 oz simple syrup
3 Coffee beans to garnish
Alcohol content
1.7 units. A unit describes the amount of alcohol in your drink. The higher the number of units, the more alcohol is in your drink. Explore further.
Bartender’s note
Replace the Sugar syrup with Galliano Vanilla for a subtle vanilla, herbal undertone. Very delicious and less of a hassle, so you do not need to make any sugar syrup. Replace the vodka for tequila to make it a Mexican Martini.
Do you want to savor the same iconic flavors of this classic cocktail, with a reduced alcohol content for a lighter, more refreshing experience? Try the lower alcohol Espresso Martini. Replace the 30 ml vodka with the non alcoholic Spirit Fluere Spiced Cane. Perfect for those seeking a more moderate option without compromising on taste.
This variant contains 0,7 units.
Serve
To serve this cocktail you should be using a Martini glass.
How to make an Espresso Martini
An Espresso Martini recipe always starts with putting your glasses into the fridge so your drinks stay nice and cold. Make a shot of espresso from your espresso machine and put it in the freezer for a quick chill. As a result the hot liquid will not melt the ice and cause the drink to be overly diluted. If you don’t have an espresso machine, using cold brew concentrate is also a good option. A tip from us to you: avoid making this cocktail with instant coffee, because it just won’t taste as magical.
After chilling, the Galliano Espresso liqueur will join the chilled espresso, which adds another rich vein of flavor to the cocktail. Then add all ingredients to the shaker and shake everything together. Finally you fine-strain the mixture in a pre-chilled glass and garnish with a few coffee beans to make it picture-perfect. The outcome will be a caffeinated cocktail that is surprisingly balanced, with just the right ratio of booze, coffee and sugar.
How to make Espresso Martini frothy?
The shaking action in the shaker creates the best part of an Espresso Martini, which is the foam layer. This gives the cocktail the vibe of a drink similar to a latte or cappuccino. To guarantee that the frothy foam layer appears on your martini, use freshly brewed (but chilled) espresso and shake the cocktail very well.
Equipment needed for an Espresso Martini
To make an Espresso Martini, you’ll need the following equipment:
- A shaker with a strainer
- A Martini glass
Unlike other martinis, this drink is always served shaken, and therefore you need a shaker and not a mixing glass.
What liqueur is best for an Espresso Martini?
This coffee martini contains vodka, coffee liqueur, and chilled espresso. As with any vodka martini, the vodka you choose will affect the overall quality of the drink. However the vodka taste will be subtle in this cocktail due to the intensity of the coffee flavour. As per the coffee liqueur, you have the existing well known coffee liqueur brands, often with a rather sweet palette and all made of only Arabica beans. Instead, using an espresso liqueur, will give this classic cocktail the desired richness with a deeper and more intense flavor.
Like a well-made espresso compared to a regular coffee, our Galliano Espresso liqueur has a more pronounced flavor, because we use two types of dark roasted coffee beans. Coffee beans used for an espresso often are roasted for a longer period than beans used for regular coffee. This results in a heavier, fuller flavor palate. Galliano Espresso is the perfect brew of two strong coffee beans. Following the top barista, a good cup of espresso is made with the best quality of Arabica and/or Robusta beans, both present in Galliano Espresso; 55% creamy, chocolate Arabica beans from Colombia and Brazil and 45% strong Robusta beans from India and Kenya. Therefore to truly master your cocktail we would recommend Galliano Espresso liqueur, for those in love with coffee.
History
In 1983 this famous cocktail was created by Dick Bradsell at the Soho Brasserie in London. The story goes that a young supermodel asked for a drink to ‘wake me up and f*ck me up’. That is how the Espresso Martini recipe, consisting of vodka, coffee liqueur and espresso was born. Quickly the word spread and it became an icon. To this day it remains the most popular coffee cocktail and a staple of after-dinner ritual worldwide.
What do the three beans in an Espresso Martini mean?
Traditionally, the cocktail is served with three coffee beans as garnish. The beans must be spread out in a fan to represent the look of several flower petals. The beans represent health, happiness, and prosperity.
A twist of coffee on a classic Martini recipe
Officially speaking an Espresso Martini is not like a true Martini, because it does not contain any gin or vermouth. But, because this caffeinated cocktail is served in a Martini glass, it has become just as iconic as the regular one. This twist on a regular Martini is a coffee lover’s dream cocktail.
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