Ever wonder which Espresso Martini is best? How different can they be? Is there a non-alcoholic version that can blend in with the crowd? Is it better with vodka, tequilla, or mezcal? If you don’t have an espresso machine, can cold brew compete? To answer these questions, we decided to test 8 recipes, blind, all at the same time, to rank them in order from best to least. And here’s what we found…
Recounting the Tale
The espresso martini is considered a modern classic as it is said to have been created in the 1980’s.
The story goes that bartender Dick Bradsell created the drink – originally called The Vodka Espresso, then the Pharmaceutical Stimulant – at Fred’s Club in the late 1980’s in London. A young model, who Bradsell claims is now world famous, sidled up to the bar and asked for something to “wake me up and f*** me up.” His solution was a combination of vodka, fresh espresso, coffee liqueur and sugar, shaken into a frothy mix of bittersweet addiction.
Methodology
Cocktails are commonly judged in competitions based on name, appearance, balance, simplicity, taste, aroma, and originality. Though I am a firm believer in the expression “we taste with our eyes,” I wanted to strip these tastings down to answering one question… “Which base cocktail tastes the best, to the most people, without knowing anything about it?”
- 12 tasters
- 8 espresso martini recipes
- All cocktails were made within minutes of each other to allow for side by side tastings, since cocktails can change dramatically over time (as things like temperature and dilution change)
- All cocktails were shaken with large ice and double strained
- All cocktails were served in identical glassware and without garnish
- Each taster ranked each cocktail in order from worst to best for overall flavor, with additional tasting notes on each
- All cocktails were measured strictly according to the recipe instructions but omitted any garnish or ice serving instructions as to keep each cocktail as identical in appearance as possible
- The same espresso (Lavazza Super Crema) was used for all cocktails, dialed in using 18g of espresso with 26-32 second pours, and chilled ahead of time to reduce dilution
Ingredients
- vodka (tito’s, grey goose, ketel one)
- tequila (cazadores reposado)
- coffee liquor (mr. black, kahlúa, j. rieger caffè amaro)
- mezcal (del maguey vida puebla)
- ritual rum alternative (zero proof)
- galliano liqueur
- giffard vanille de madagascar liqueur
- trader vic’s macadamia liqueur
- crème de cacao
- freshly brewed espresso
- cold brew
- orgeat
- agave
- simple syrup
- demara syrup
- maple syrup
- xocolatl mole bitters
- chili tincture
- aromatic bitters zero proof
- cream
- coconut milk
- saline solution
Selection
This is admittedly the most difficult part of the entire process. After investigating many different recipes and variations, I used the following logic (or perhaps to some, lack thereof) to guide my selection.
- 1 Toasty Bird Original, selfishly, to force continued experimentation, this time with the support of our very own neighborhood cocktail hero, Brian Wigginton (Toasty Bird)
- 1 with a hint of smoke, as I’ve seen mezcal variations popping up in restaurants across town (Imbibe/Bar Bohemian)
- 1 top search result that anyone searching for an espresso martini recipe might stumble upon online (Preppy Kitchen)
- 1 published winning recipe from another blind taste off among highly accredited bartenders (Punch/The Modern)
- 1 non-alcoholic (Simple Mocktail Recipes)
- 1 more complex, Italian, spice forward variation from the best bar in the world in 2019 (USA Today/Dante)
- 1 highly rated cold brew variation to see if it stands up to espresso (Imbibe/Dear Irving)
- 1 local favorite, more complex variation (Imbibe/The Roosevelt Room)
The Toast
“To health, wealth, and happiness — the symbol of the traditional three espresso bean garnish on this modern classic” – Aaron Nightingale
Results
And finally, what you came for… the blind espresso martini tasting insights and rankings! Be sure to read the full tasting notes as well to find the right cocktail for you (i.e. your favorite may not always align with the “best” group vote if you tend to prefer your cocktails sweeter, more acidic, without a specific ingredient, etc.).
Though it’s impossible to claim any sort of statistically significant insights from a sample size of 12, here’s what we found:
- With 7 of 12 people voting for the Preppy Kitchen recipe, I’d say that was the hands down favorite; however, most tasters were pretty split between that and Punch / The Modern (the co-winner of a blind tasting among accredited bartenders) — the former, a stronger version and the later a slightly sweeter vanilla version — both well balanced and classic in flavor
- The non-alcoholic recipe by Simple Mocktail Recipes, was unsurprisingly last as it had a noticeably lighter body than the rest of the line up; however, it did manage to fool a few tasters and even made it to #2 for one
- Perhaps surprisingly, the recipe in second to last was crafted by Dante (a top 50 bar in the world) due to the galliano licorice flavor that perhaps came through a bit too much for most tasters
- Generally, the more expensive cocktails were middle to lower in ranking, with the most expensive coming in 5th place and the least expensive coming in 3rd
- Lastly, the most complex of the bunch came in third and had a creaminess that most tasters enjoyed, but surprisingly mistook for baileys
| Rank | Recipe Source | Taster Notes |
| 1 | Preppy Kitchen – Best for a stronger Classic | – coffee and sugar – espresso, sugar, cereal, strong, classic – chocolate, tasty, sweet – sweet, nutty – overall sweet – beautiful color, decent foam, nice and thick foam, dark cherry wood stain color, strong on vodka on the tongue / front, finishes coffee taste, notes of chocolate and creamy texture – wow good!, good balance of coffee + cocktail – pine tree, liquorish – sweet / articficialy flavor, a lot like instant coffee – coffee, bitter, sweetness, caramel – dark, cherry, sugar cane, strong |
| 2 | Punch (The Modern) – Best for a vanilla classic | – slight smoke, simple – sweet, rum, espresso, classic – smooth, easy – similar to A, a bit spicy / smoky – cocoa – creamiest of all the foams, beautiful cherry wood color, super nice on the nose, warm, chocolate coffee smell on the nose, kahlua? extra coffee flavor on the front of tongue, finishes liquueur flavor – also spicy? – chocolate kahlua – easy – smells sweet like vanilla – coffee, butterscotch |
| 3 | Imbibe (The Roosevelt Room) – Best for creaminess | – creamy, dessert / ice cream – creamy, espresso forward, bite – baileys – sweet, hazlenut, creamy – creamy, sweet – lightest in colors, both drink and foam, smells sweet / candy on the nose, starts sweet, ends sweet — lots of creamer? of some sort, all I can taste and smell is sugar – caramel? – baileys – stronger alcohol, better taste, creamier – smells like instant ramen when you open the package, no alcohol? – baileys |
| 4 | Toasty Bird Original – Best for nutty and coconut | – oat milk? – coconut, vanilla, maple, nutty – cocoa, hearty, cream – hazelnutty – sweet w/ a slightly bitter finish, nutty, hazelnut – caramel foam, looks dense foam and tiny bottles, bitter on the front of the tongue, finishes bitter… barf, what the f*** is in here? – chalky – hazelnut, butterscotch – yummy, dark chocolate, less tasty as it sits, coconut aftertaste – smells sweet like caramel, walnut / nutty – dark chocolate |
| 5 | Imbibe (Bar Bohemian) – Best for smoke and chocolate | – hints of guiness, slight tart, whiskey – amaro, smoky, dark sugar, nutty – whiskey, scotch – chocolate, don’t like 🙁 but aftertaste good, mezcal – bourbon? whiskey? – light caramel color, thin foam, airy lots of bubbles on foam, smell tequila on the nose, tequila is muting the coffee, no smell or sense of coffee at all – very different, tequila – scotch – strong, mezcal – too much – mezcal, campfire – mezcal, cherry, chocolate |
| 6 | Imbibe (Dear Irving) – Best for chocolate and cold brew | – tastes like direct out of a bottle – light body cold brew, more complex than it appears – cold brew + liquer – ashy – sweet – no foam at all, light hardwood color, no coffee in this one?, barely smell coffee liqueur in it, starts coffee vodka strong on tongue and finishes vodka-y – thin chocolate, like chocolate milk. N/A? – butterscotch – not much flavor, no foam, huge negative – no alcohol? – coffee liqueur, whiskey |
| 7 | USAToday (Dante) – Best for licorice and spice | – anise, spicy – spice, amaro, good body – licorice – smoky, no likey, whiskey 🙁 – sweet, spicy – super dark color, thick looking foam, strong coffee flavor on the nose, jesus this is strong AF, what is this liqueur I can taste? stings – spicy! licorice? – licorice – spicy, sweet, not a fave – licorice + absinthe? no like – licorice |
| 8 | Simple Mocktail Recipes – Best for cinnamon and spice | – christmas spice, no bite – light body, spice, pine – christmas + gingerbread, no bite – dark smokey – bitter, spices – big airy bubbles on the foam, beautiful cherry redwood color, licorice, cinnamon on the finish, spice, can’t smell coffee that much, don’t care for – weird, cinnamon finish, N/A – almond – yucky, no alcohol – fireball, cinnamon – fireball |