Happy almost Friday!!
Alright, I’ve been excited to share this post with you ever since Neal mixed me up the best espresso martini this past weekend while we were getting ready to go see Neal Francis (who is awesome btw, you should totally go to his show if he’s coming to your city next!) at Thalia Hall with our friends Erin and Lucas. (If you haven’t seen a show at Thalia Hall, put it on your bucket list! It’s such a cool venue!)
We recently discovered a new cold brew liqueur that is SO good, and I think it’s the trick to the best espresso martinis! It’s called Mr. Black. I found it (as one often does) at Foxtrot, but I know they carry it several places. (See their store locator here.)
I love a good espresso martini while I’m getting ready for a night out (#alwaystired) so I was eager to try this when I stumbled upon it! I know you all love espresso martinis too, so as soon as Neal poured this for me, I had to snap a photo to turn into a blog post!
What I love about this particular liqueur:
It has a high quality cold-brew taste. (Which makes sense, because it’s Australian and made in Sydney. While I have limited knowledge about Australian culture, and like many American moms, most of what I’ve learned I’ve learned from Bluey–I DO know that the Australians KNOW their coffee!)
It has less sugar than other coffee liqueurs (like Kahlua) but still sweet enough to where you don’t need to add any simple syrup to your martini. It also has a bit more caffeine. (Which is ideal for me to keep me going to make a Friday night dinner. 😂)
Other ways you could use it: Pour it over ice cream for a delicious post-dinner spiked dessert. Shake it with milk or cream for a fancy White Russian. You could even mess around with a cold brew old fashioned if that’s your thing!
How to make an Espresso martini:
What you’ll need: (Makes one cocktail)
- 1 shot espresso (or cold brew, or strong coffee). You want to make sure it’s cooled at least to room temp. Put it in the fridge if you can. You don’t want to pour hot coffee over ice and dilute it!
- 1.5 oz (one shot glass) vodka of your choice. (We like Grey Goose.)
- 1.5 oz (one shot glass) Mr. Black coffee liquor (you could also substitute for Kahlua, but Mr. Black is a bit more special IMO!)
- Splash of creamer of your choice (heavy cream or half and half is ideal. Go with the good stuff!)
- Ice (for shaking)
- Optional: coffee beans for garnish
How to make it:
Step one:
Either place your martini glasses in the freezer beforehand, or fill them with ice so they can chill while you make your cocktail. (You will toss the ice right before pouring. This way, you have a chilled glass!)
Step two:
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and build your cocktail. Spirits always go in first: pour in the vodka and coffee liquor. Then the espresso, then a dash of cream.
Step three:
Shake it A LOT. More than you think you need to! Shake shake shake! The harder and faster you shake, the foamier it will be on top. (You want the foam!)
Step four:
Toss the ice from your martini glass, pour into your freshly chilled glass, and if you wish, garnish with a coffee bean (or multiple) on top!
Tip if making two martinis at once: You will need to make them one at a time, but rather than pouring the entire first one, and then allowing it to sit until you make your second, pour half into each glass from the first round, and then make the second, and finish topping each glass with the rest. Reason being, that way you’ll have two martinis finished at the exact same time, and they’ll both be cold and have the perfect amount of foam. (The foam dissipates after a few minutes as the chill wears off. Make sense?!) I read this somewhere and thought it was helpful, so wanted to pass along!
