The Espresso Martini Is Back. Gen X Asks: Why?
Decades after its first turn in the spotlight, this trendy cocktail has been co-opted by Gen Z. Here, a rich, full-flavored version that pleases everyone. HAS BEAN At Layla in Brooklyn, the Espresso Martini mixes ’80s nostalgia with the connoisseur coffee culture of today. By Kara Newman / Photographs by Lanna Apisukh for The Wall Street Journal July 12, 2023 3:12 pm ET THE NEW-AND-IMPROVED Espresso Martini has arrived. Perhaps you’ve spotted an elaborate, upscale iteration at a bar, or a defiantly unhinged version on TikTok (see: the juggernaut that is the Parmesan Espresso Martini, with a flurry of grated cheese). It’s one thing to watch a new generation embrace classics like the Vesper or the Manhattan. But, for Gen X, witnessing
THE NEW-AND-IMPROVED Espresso Martini has arrived. Perhaps you’ve spotted an elaborate, upscale iteration at a bar, or a defiantly unhinged version on TikTok (see: the juggernaut that is the Parmesan Espresso Martini, with a flurry of grated cheese).
It’s one thing to watch a new generation embrace classics like the Vesper or the Manhattan. But, for Gen X, witnessing the revival of the Espresso Martini—a drink created during their lifetime—has produced mixed reactions.
Phil Duff, the New York-based proprietor of Old Duff Genever, tended bar in London starting around 1988. He jokingly compared the drink to a disease: “It goes away and flares up again.” The “visual spectacle” of the two-tone cocktail—a rich brown with a lush, foamy collar—has always been part of the appeal, he surmised: “It’s a very Instagrammable drink.”
H. Joseph Ehrmann, proprietor of Elixir in San Francisco, recalls making Espresso Martinis for the first time in Vail, Colo., in the mid-90s. He lauds the drink’s versatility, in frozen versions, for instance, or pre-batched and served on tap with nitro coffee, “which gets a good head on it.” A new wave of coffee liqueurs, notably Mr Black, has further boosted the drink.
SHAKE UP At Layla in Brooklyn, Stefano D’Orsogna mixes an Espresso Martini with fresh espresso and coffee liqueur.
The Espresso Martini originated in the 1980s, when late bartender Dick Bradsell created the “vodka espresso” at London’s Soho Brasserie for a guest—supposedly a supermodel who requested a drink to “f—k me up and wake me up.” The original was served on the rocks, using little more than the titular ingredients, garnished with three coffee beans. By the late 1990s, it evolved into the Espresso Martini, with the addition of coffee liqueur. Presented in a stemmed glass, an icon was born.
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Kim Haasarud, owner of Garden Bar PHX in Phoenix, pinpointed the first time she made an Espresso Martini at 1998, in New York City. “Today, how people look at coffee is much, much different,” she said. Collaborations between coffee roasters and bars or distilleries bring distinctly local flavor. At Garden Bar, the Cuppa Cold Coffee blends cold brew from Arizona’s Cartel Roasting with reposado tequila and Sherry cream.
No doubt the innovation will continue. “Coffee has touched a much younger generation,” Haasarud said; her kids, ages 14 and 15, already love Starbucks, as do their friends. “They’re not ordering Espresso Martinis, but their attitude toward coffee is that it’s fun and delicious. It will be interesting to see how that carries forward in another 10 years.”
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