Drink · 6 min · 1 coupe
Espresso martini
Vodka, coffee liqueur and a fresh shot of espresso. Fresh coffee is non-negotiable — cold brew gives you no foam and the foam is the drink.
The sheet · 1 coupe · 6 min
mediumWhy tonight. Vodka, coffee liqueur and a fresh shot of espresso. Fresh coffee is non-negotiable — cold brew gives you no foam and the foam is the drink.
What it needs
Nothing confirmed on your shelf yet — this list is the whole ask.
- vodka
- coffee liqueur
- coffee
Method
- 1½ oz vodka, 1 oz coffee liqueur, 1 oz espresso, freshly pulled and still hot.
- Shake harder and longer than feels reasonable. The foam comes from the crema and the shake, not from anything you add.
- Double-strain up and let the head settle before the three beans go on.
- Cold or old coffee gives you a flat brown drink. If there is one rule, it is that the espresso goes into the tin within a minute of being pulled.
An educational pour, not a reprint of a licensed spec. No allergen or alcohol-safety claim.
Cook or pour it, then edit the shelf if you emptied a bottle or used the last of something.
Why each of these is on the list
What the ingredients are actually doing
- vodka
- Deliberately quiet — it carries other flavors and dilutes without arguing.
- coffee liqueur
- Sweet, roasted and thick, so it brings body as well as flavor.
- coffee
- Bitterness and roast, which is why it turns up in savory rubs as often as in dessert.
Missing one of them? The substitutions are written against those jobs rather than against a chart, so they say what each replacement costs this dish in particular.
Cooks from the same box
If you bought for this, you can already make these
Shares vodka, coffee liqueur
Black Russian
The same without cream, which makes it a much drier drink and a far better one after dinner.
Shares vodka, coffee liqueur
White Russian
Vodka and coffee liqueur with cream floated on top. Do not stir it in the glass; the layers are how it is supposed to arrive.
Shares vodka
Vodka soda
The cleanest possible long drink, which means there is nowhere for a rough vodka to hide. Lots of ice, fresh soda, a real squeeze of citrus.
Shares coffee
Amaro coffee
Amaro and coffee, hot or over ice. The bitterness of both stacks rather than clashing, and it is what to serve instead of dessert.
Next
Cook it, then tell the shelf what you used.
The ranking is only as honest as the shelf behind it. Empty the cream, and everything that leaned on cream should stop being offered.