Almost Espresso Martini Day! Let’s celebrate.
WFH has us debating either drip or drink at 4pm, so why not blend both for the ultimate power hour?
Espresso Martinis are easy to shake and leave lots of room for creativity with its simple spec: booze, espresso, and coffee liqueur.
*Pro-tip for a frothy top?
“Shake hard and fast to aerate the drink and serve quickly,” suggests Dianne Lowry, beverage director at Macchina.
Consider these five city spots serving caff-ed variations—that’s if you can’t grind espresso beans at home. “That’s one of the reasons the Espresso Martini has had such a resurgence in popularity,” says Lowry.
Macchina
Slip past The Bedford bar and set foot in Macchina, a rustic-industrial room serving Tuscan stone-fired pizzas and herbaceous cocktails. The beverage program, powered by Lowry who trained under the late (and great) Sasha Petraske, accents Italian aperitivo in a modern manner–linking long-time Italian liquids with everyday tea leaves and coffee beans.
“I traveled to India and fell in love with chai [tea] – and started drinking a lot of dirty chai lattes, so I thought, why not try it in an Espresso Martini?” Lowry shares. Her Chai Espresso Martini contains coconut [cream] to balance the intensity of the spirit, espresso, and spices alike. Dehydrated coffee replaces the classic three-bean garnish atop the coupe glass.
Regarding the resurgence in popularity: “People aren’t used to going out, so they need the extra pick-me-up at the end of a meal,” Lowry finishes.
Chai Espresso Martini
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ oz. Vanilla Vodka
- ¼ oz. Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
- ¾ oz. Coconut Chai Syrup
- ¾ oz. Espresso
- Dehydrated Coffee
Preparation: Shake vigorously. Strain and pour in a chilled martini glass. Top with dehydrated coffee.
Vestry
Slide into Vestry, a sophisticated Michelin-rated restaurant specializing in striking seafood dishes and stellar drinks amid contemporary surroundings adjacent to The Dominick hotel lobby.
The bar team alters the familiar frothy sipper in its Back in Black cocktail–combining Japanese whisky, rich Tahitian vanilla, and a bold cold brew combo. “The dimension of the vanilla adds an interesting taste profile to the drink–it creates a richness,” chef Shaun Hergatt describes. He suggests pairing the lowball cocktail with the Wagyu Beef Cheek (dressed in potato purée and miso-mustard) or the dark chocolate-coated Vestry ‘Mallomar’ during dessert.
“Having the one-two punch of liquor and caffeine is very appealing,” Hergatt mentions.
Back in Black
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. Toki Japanese Whisky
- 1 oz. Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
- 1 oz. Espresso
- ¼ oz. Tahitian Vanilla Syrup
Preparation: Shake with ice then double strain onto a large cube in a rocks glass.
*Pro-tip per chef: Put a spring inside of the shaker when you move the drink (to help add extra body and froth). At Vestry, the spring from the top of the cocktail strainer is removed and used.
Our/Bar
Belly up at Our/Bar, a hip hangout pouring various cocktails while producing small-batch vodka on-site–making it Manhattan’s first distillery since Prohibition. “New Yorkers are constantly running around and energized by caffeine,” bar (general) manager Kaddy Feast admits.
Feast’s revised Espresso Martini is a stand-out as it stars her “not as sweet” coffee liqueur with a more authentic espresso coffee flavor profile.
“I was taught how to make my own coffee liqueur in college by my friend’s mother,” she says. “The great thing about making your own coffee liqueur is that you can use any coffee you like, sweeten it to taste, and select the spirit. It made sense to have Our/New York Vodka (with its exceptionally smooth flavor profile) to be the only liquor in the drink.”
“This drink is made for New York,” Feast closes.
Espresso Martini
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. Our/New York 80-Proof Vodka
- 1 oz. Our/Bustelo-luha* (Café Bustelo Espresso Ground Coffee, Our/New York 80-Proof Vodka and Simple Syrup)
- 1 oz. Espresso
Preparation: Combine all ingredients into a shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a coupe. Garnish with 3 coffee beans.
Comodo
Convert “comfortable” in Spanish and you have Comodo. Chef Felipe Donnelly’s target is to take comfort foods from his time in Latin America and infuse a New York sensibility to create flavorsome dishes in a stylish eatery (within Freehand New York hotel).
“That’s exactly what we are doing behind the bar with our Espresso Martini [riff],” head bartender Lyle Reed states. “His dishes are full of flavors you can find in this drink – from our Carnitas Tacos (where pork is rubbed with coffee) to our house-made moles which contain (and pair well with) cocoa.”
No doubt the Insanely Good Espresso Martini fits perfectly with the intention and flavor profile of Comodo’s Pan-Latin food. It strikes a balance between the established recipe (rich, heavy mouthfeel) and new discovery to “good” espresso notes.
“Espresso is second only to peanut butter in being a perfect pair with chocolate, so after knowing we wanted cacao, cherry was a natural second addition,” Reed explains.
Insanely Good Espresso Martini
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ oz. Vodka
- ¼ oz. Cherry Heering
- ¼ oz. Creme de Cacao
- ¼ oz. Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
- ½ oz. Stumptown ‘Hairbender’ Espresso
Preparation: Shake hard and strain into a coupe or martini glass of your choice. Express a fresh orange peel over the drink (and discard) “to give some lightness when you put your nose to the glass.”
Bar Calico
Float to the second floor of Freehand New York and find Bar Calico, a Southwestern-style cocktail concept stemming from Authentic Hospitality (The Jane Ballroom, Georgia Room) with mod-feminist painter Georgia O’Keeffe being its muse.
A few fragrant cocktails are named after O’Keeffe’s femme paintings while others acknowledge the Latin flair in the air like the caffeinated Carajillo Martini – served cold. A carajillo is a hot coffee drink to which hard liquor is added.
“The Carajillo Martini is a perfect balance of flavors,” manager Lucas Canan begins. “Cold brew concentrate gives the drink cocoa notes and a strong kick of acidity. Licor 43 imparts citrus and spice. Our homemade cinnamon syrup is rich and sweet–a balancing counterpart to the cold brew rounding out the cocktail. We shake the drink very hard with Kolddraft Ice Cubes, giving the finished cocktail a nice viscosity and a creamy texture.”
Carajillo Martini
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. Absolut Elyx Vodka (or Avion Silver Tequila)
- 1 oz. Licor 43
- ¼ oz. House-made Cinnamon Syrup
- 1 oz. Cold Brew Concentrate
- Orange Peel
Preparation: Shake hard with Kolddraft Ice Cubes. Strain into a coupe or martini glass of your choice. Garnish with a fresh orange peel.
“The Espresso Martini is more future than fad. Today, with the ever growing focus on good ingredients and properly made cocktails, it makes sense for the Espresso Martini to stick around. When made right, it’s a perfectly balanced cocktail and one that can be ordered in almost any bar,” Canan concludes.
