The Espresso Martini has become the drink of our time. It’s a punchy pre-party stiffener, or something to get you back on track after a late night. In most recipes there’s a fair amount of sugar or liqueur to balance the bitterness from the coffee. But in order to drop the sugar levels, we like to use cold brew coffee – it doesn’t have the same bitterness and comes with a rounder flavour. We then dispense it from a soda siphon, which gives the drink a velvety, Guinness-like texture. However, you can make this without a siphon – see the tip at the end.
To batch
– 700ml/28oz cold water
– 110g/4½oz ground coffee – if you have a preferred roaster, get some freshly ground; it’s the main body of the drink, so make sure it’s decent
– 150ml/6oz vodka (or you can use tequila or rum)
– 75g/3oz caster (superfine) sugar
– 2 jugs or containers, at least 2 litre/80oz
– Funnel
– Coffee filter
– Soda siphon/cream whipper
– NO2 cartridge
BATCH 1. Pour the water over the ground coffee in one of the jugs. Stir for 20 seconds to release some of the gases in the coffee (this is known as the bloom). 2. Cover and leave overnight in a cool place, or for at least 10 hours. (Max – the morning brother – does this when he makes his brew in the morning for the cocktail later that night.) 3. Strain the liquid through the coffee filter into the other jug. It will keep in this form (covered in the fridge) for a couple of days. 4. Add the vodka and sugar, and stir until dissolved. 5. Pour into the siphon and charge with the canister. Shake and put in the fridge to rest until chilled, about 2 hours.
GLASS SERVE 1. Very gently squeeze the nozzle on the siphon to release the liquid into each glass and allow to settle. 2. Top off to fill the glasses.
TIP If you don’t have a soda siphon, you can make this with a cocktail shaker instead. Put 150ml/6oz of the mix into the shaker. Fill with ice and shake hard, then strain it into a cocktail glass.
