Never order again: Espresso Martini is the most annoying cocktail of all
The Espresso Martini, also affectionately known as the EsMa, is still booming on cocktail menus. Coffee, vodka, coffee liqueur and ice shaken until the glass is ice-cold, a few coffee beans on top and you’re ready to go. But insiders say something else: this cocktail is the cockroach of the cocktail world. Everyone hates it, but it can’t be eradicated.
Think about it: coffee, ice, coffee liqueur and vodka in a shaker, shake until the shaker is cold and voilà, done. It’s also decorated with a few coffee beans, but you fish those out and then pour all that deliciousness straight down your throat.
A burning hatred of Espresso Martini
Or not? Because according to the American magazine Grub Street , bartenders have a burning hatred of the Espresso Martini. ‘You really have to shake it hard,’ says Ella Downs of East Village Bar in New York. ‘And sometimes that makes a shaker burst open, leaving your entire shirt covered in it.’
Best with fresh coffee
The best Espresso Martinis are made with freshly brewed espresso, and most bartenders in a cocktail bar don’t have that readily available. Sometimes they make a whole batch of strong coffee in advance so they can keep working through orders one after another – badly needed on a busy Friday afternoon drinks session – but that’s not the real deal.
More annoying than a Spritz
Some bars don’t even bother with it anymore. No time to make fresh espresso, no desire to shake explosively foaming cocktail shakers: the answer is no. Ella Downs saw a few guests leave the bar when they heard that the Espresso Martini was no longer being made, but she doesn’t care that much. A cocktail trend can suddenly be over again, and then people will simply come back. ‘It’s the Aperol Spritz of 2021,’ she says. ‘But really much more annoying to make than a Spritz.’
So next time you order an Espresso Martini and suddenly see that lovely bartender giving you a weak smile, you’ll know why. Making it may be just as intense as drinking it.
