If you’re looking for the best espresso martini recipe you’ve come to the right place. Our espresso martini will leave you wanting more, because our recipe is all about the use of high-quality ingredients creating an irresistibly smooth and rich cocktail that you can enjoy any day of the week.
It’s a big statement (we know), but seriously, our espresso martini recipe is better than most bars and restaurants out there!
How?
Well most bars and restaurants don’t put enough emphasis and detail into the quality and freshness of the coffee they use.
That’s where our popular recipe comes in and takes the cocktail to the next level.
What’s even better? It’s actually really simple to make.There are actually only a few key ingredients used in the best espresso martini. You just need to understand that using premium spirits and coffee will get you the best end results.
In this article, we’ll be taking you through two versions we love. The ‘classic’ and our ‘espresso martini twist’.
If you’re ready to taste the best espresso martini recipes on the planet, then let’s get started.
The Classic Espresso Martini Recipe
Since there are only a few ingredients in the classic espresso martini recipe, it’s essential the quality of ingredients you use are the best you can get your hands on. Trust us – you’ll be inviting your friends round to sip on the delicious drink all night long.
So here’s what makes up the world famous cocktail:
Vodka
We suggest using the most premium vodka you can get your hands on. Why? If the Vodka itself is clean and quality, the espresso martini will be too. This will help provide a balanced drink as all of the flavours are combined together. Grey Goose is a great benchmark is you’re making an espresso martini recipe in the UK.
Espresso / Coffee
The coffee you use is the most critical part. You simply cannot make the best espresso martini unless you are using freshly roasted, freshly brewed quality coffee.
Why is it so important?
Well although the espresso and vodka are pretty much equal parts, coffee is much stronger in flavour, so it takes up the majority of the components of the drink. This means choosing a high quality coffee is really important because it’s the most prominent ingredient you’ll taste.
Depending on your personal preferences, you can experiment with different coffees to find one that you really love.
We find that a coffee with chocolately notes tends to work best as an all-rounder as it’s compliments the other ingredients very well.
We recently used a single origin coffee from Ethiopia which tasted exactly like strawberry milkshake. We just couldn’t believe the creamy flavour – it was out of this world. Check out the photos and see for yourself.
Sugar
So here’s the thing about sugar in an espresso martini cocktail…
Historically, most espresso martini recipes have used a dark roasted coffee. Using a dark roast style means it’ll naturally produce more bitter flavour notes. So the use of sugar was added because it was necessary to balance out the ‘bitterness’ of the coffee.
Since the coffee we use is light and medium roast profiles, we don’t have such an issue with bitterness in our espresso martini recipe. This is great because we can use a little less sugar or Kaluah mix, making it healthier and tastier at the same time.
Kahlua if you didn’t know, is a coffee liqueur used in most recipes and has flavour notes of coffee and sugar. It’s a great component to an espresso martini however, you may find that you don’t need to use it if the coffee you are using has naturally sweeter notes.
An Espresso Martini Recipe with a Twist
Welcome to our espresso martini recipe with a twist. It’s REALLY tasty and you can have a lot of fun making it. The magic ingredient we use in our twist is actually Bailey’s. It provides a silky, velvety texture when added to the our espresso martini cocktail – we’re confident you’ll absolutely love this.
Video Guide: How to make the best Espresso Martini at home:
What you’ll need:
Espresso Martini Ingredients List
- 100ml vodka (Absolute Vodka or Grey Goose) – preferably a vodka that’s very clean.
- 25ml of Baileys (Or similar Irish cream alternative)
- Double espressos x2 – we’ll share your options below.
- Coffee beans – to garnish (optional)
- 25ml simple syrup (if you like it sweeter)
- Ice Cubes
Espresso Martini Equipment
- Cocktail Shaker
- x2 Martini Glasses
- Spirit Measure (or scales as alternative)
How to Make a ‘proper’ Espresso?
To make a top espresso martini, you’ll need a ‘proper’ espresso shot.
By proper, we mean you’ll need to have an espresso machine that can produce enough pressure (9 bars to be precise) in order to create enough texture and body if you really want the maximum flavour.
Take our word for it, if you’re looking to make to make the best espresso martini recipe at home, you’ll need to invest in the right home coffee equipment to achieve the end result. We have a range of affordable home coffee machines which you can buy online.
Sage machines are perfect for beginners starting out and you can even buy now and pay later using our payment options.
How to make espresso without a machine?
There are some cheaper alternatives to making espresso without a machine however, they won’t have quite the same results. So here they are:
1) The Aeropress – check out our ultimate Aeropress Coffee Maker Guide
2) Moka Pot / Stove Top Recipe – How to make the perfect moka pot.
3) The Cafetiere – What the other recipes don’t tell you.
4) Here’s a cold brew recipe which works well in espresso martini’s.*To get more of a concentrated ‘espresso-style’ punch from these brew methods above, we recommend using a medium to dark roasted coffee as well as adjusting the amount of coffee to water ratio. For example, you could make the Aeropress more concentrated by using 18g of medium-fine grind to just 60ml of water.
Method:
- Fill your martini glasses with ice to chill.
- Fill up your espresso martini cocktail shaker with ice
- Now brew the espresso and immediately pour over ice into the cocktail shaker (this prevents oxidation & enhances he naturally sweet flavours in coffee)
- Next, pour 100ml of vodka into the cocktail shaker. (If using optional simple syrup, add this too).
- Add our secret twist, the baileys shot and shake well.
- Empty the ice out of the martini glasses, and pour your delicious espresso martini concoction through the strainer into the glasses. Using the strainer will create a lovely creamy foam on top.
- Garnish with the coffee beans.*Making this with freshly roasted coffee will make all the difference to the flavour, so make sure you head to our shop to buy some coffee (beans or ground). We recommend trying more chocolate notes for best results.
Congrats! You’ve just made the best espresso martini recipe
If you managed to make this, we’d love to hear from you. You can share it with us on social media using #balancecoffeerecipes. We’ll make sure to re-post and share your version to the world.
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