Espresso · Cocktail
How to make an espresso martini
This drink contains alcohol. It is for adults of legal drinking age only.
An espresso martini is vodka, coffee liqueur, a little sugar syrup and a fresh espresso, shaken with ice until the shot foams and then strained into a chilled glass.
- Coffee
- 18 g
- Cup
- 126 ml
- Temp
- 93 °C
- Time
- 1:30
The International Bartenders Association (IBA) publishes a specification for it. This page follows that specification for the vodka, liqueur and syrup amounts and fills the one gap it leaves open: how much coffee is "one strong espresso". The sequence takes 90 seconds, not counting glass chilling.
The spec
| Part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Vodka | 50 ml |
| Coffee liqueur (IBA names Kahlúa) | 30 ml |
| Sugar syrup | 10 ml |
| Espresso | 18 g in, 36 g out |
| Ice | about 120 g of cubes, for the shaker only |
| Glass | coupe, 180 ml, chilled |
| Garnish | 3 coffee beans |
| Total time | 90 seconds |
The liquids add up to 126 ml before shaking. Melting ice adds some water, so the strained drink will fill the coupe to roughly 70 to 80 percent.
You need
- An espresso machine and grinder, and a scale reading to 0.1 g.
- A cocktail shaker with a strainer.
- A jigger or measuring cup marked in ml.
- A coupe, kept in the freezer or filled with ice water while you work.
- Fresh coffee beans for the garnish.
Ratio 1:2 · Grind: Espresso · grind chart
Starting ranges come from your grinder maker’s own guide. Burrs, beans and calibration vary, so treat them as where to begin.
Steps
- 0:00, Pull 18 g into 36 g.
Dose 18 g and stop at 36 g in a small cup. Pull it last-minute: a fresh shot carries the foam that makes the top of this drink.
- 0:30, Ice, vodka, liqueur, syrup and shot into shaker.
Empty the ice water from the coupe. Put the ice in the shaker, then add 50 ml vodka, 30 ml coffee liqueur and 10 ml sugar syrup. Pour the espresso in.
- 1:00, Shake hard for 15 seconds.
Close the shaker and shake hard for 15 seconds. The outside should frost.
- 1:15, Strain into chilled coupe, add 3 beans.
Strain into the coupe. Float three coffee beans on the foam.
My notes for this recipe
Balance and sweetness
The sweet part of this drink is the liqueur, not the syrup. 10 ml of sugar syrup is a small correction. If the first sip is too sharp, raise the syrup to 15 ml. If it is too sweet, drop it to 5 ml. Change only the syrup and keep the espresso fixed, so you can tell which change did what.
A hotter or longer shot melts more ice and thins the drink. A shot that has sat for several minutes loses its foam and tastes flatter. That is why the shot goes first in the sequence but is poured straight in, not parked.
Why these numbers
50, 30 and 10 ml. These are the IBA's amounts for vodka, Kahlúa and sugar syrup, read from the IBA's own page. The IBA lists one "strong espresso" with no volume.
36 g of espresso. Authored. It is the 1:2 beverage ratio used elsewhere on CupTune, see the espresso recipe, and is a bit more than a single café shot. If you want a drier drink, use 30 g.
Coupe. The IBA calls for a chilled cocktail glass without naming a style. A coupe is CupTune's choice because the foam sits well in it and it holds the 126 ml plus dilution.
Ice, 120 g, and 15 seconds. Authored starting values. They are meant to chill the drink without leaving it watery. Cube size, freezer temperature and how hard you shake all change the result.
Three beans. The IBA garnish.
If it looks or tastes wrong
- No foam. The shot was old or the shake was short. Use a shot that is under a minute old and shake the full 15 seconds.
- Watery and weak. Too much ice, or small wet ice. Use cold, hard cubes.
- Too bitter. Shorten the shot to 30 g, or check that you stopped the machine on time.
- Too sweet. Cut the syrup to 5 ml before touching the liqueur.
- Foam collapses at once. The glass was warm. Chill it longer.
These fixes are CupTune's judgement, not tested pours.
Evidence and limits
The three IBA amounts and the garnish come from the IBA's published specification. The espresso weight, the ice weight, the shake time, the glass choice and every other time are authored. The dilution estimate is rough arithmetic. CupTune measured nothing here and has no sensory data to say which espresso volume is best. Strength depends on the spirit's proof, which varies by brand. The page does not give an alcohol-by-volume figure because that figure depends on the exact bottles and dilution.
Questions
Can I use a pod machine or moka pot?
You can, but it is a substitution. Use about 36 ml of strong coffee, cooled briefly. The foam will be thinner.
Why shake instead of stir?
Shaking whips air into the shot, and that is what builds the foam top, which stirring would not do. This is CupTune's explanation, not something we measured.
Can I make it ahead?
Not well. The foam comes from a fresh shot and is gone within minutes.