Mixology at Home - Espresso Martini

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Most of the cocktails we’ve made have just three ingredients. That isn’t the case with an espresso martini but honestly, one more ingredient didn’t hurt; it actually hit the spot.

Supposedly, bartenders are not fans of it due to the time it takes to make it. Really? Maybe if you had to brew the coffee but I always keep a small bottle of cold coffee in my bar ‘fridge. Just don’t let it hang around too long.

The original is with regular vodka and no crème de cacao.

Ingredients

• 1 oz espresso/coffee
• 1 ½ oz vanilla vodka
• 1 ½ oz Kahlua/coffee liqueur
• 1 oz crème de cacao
• 3 chocolate-covered coffee beans

Fill a shaker with ice and add everything except the coffee bean; shake to mix and chill. Strain into a martini glass and drop in the coffee beans. It is served straight up, no ice.

Of course, since this drink doesn’t include gin or vermouth, it isn’t really a martini. It might have originated at a London club in the 1980s. I know it wasn’t around before that; not in my bartending bible: Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide, circa 1972.

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