The Woodstock Espresso Martini
Now we all know that Espresso Martinis have been all the rage this past year, And quite frankly, A smooth-fun martini was just what the doctor ordered.
Now, I will say I do have some standards for what I deem to be a true Espresso Martini, but they’re not too wild. You have to have real espresso, (no coffee, no instant espresso, just true good espresso) a touch of sweetness, a hard shake, and 3 beans on top.
Fresh espresso is important because you get the creamy texture, a decent amount of caffeine, and an overall better flavor (…Plus it creates a fabulous creamy foam on top when using true espresso!). we have an espresso machine at home (you can check it out here) that works great. Its small and easy to use for casual baristas like us and it comes all in one. it will grind our beans, press the espresso, and steam the milk! Bring on the morning lattes, afternoon espressos, decaf affogatos, and of coufse…Espresso martinis!!!
Recently we have tried out a coffee subscription. We currently are on our second month and have been really enjoying it. We both work from home so running out of coffee is never a good idea and we’ve had to go out a few mornings for a panic buy. With this subscription you take a test on how you like your coffee prepared, flavor ect. and then you can choose how often you get it. We receive two bags every month and it feels like Christmas when the coffee shows up on our doorstep! We get excited to read the postcard and learn about the country in which the coffee is from! There are a few subscriptions out there, but we chose to go with Atlas based on the reviews and popularity.
Now that we’ve covered the basics lets get into the good stuff!
So A Traditional Espresso Martini has four components Vodka, Coffee Liqueur, Espresso and a touch of sweetness.
So if you’re not in the area any coffee liquor from the store will do, but if you’re in the Woodstock/Canton area you should defiantly get your hands on the Reformation Brewery’s Collaborative Coffee Liquor with Alma Coffee! This Liqueur is so so good, just the right amount of sweetness, very smooth and fully loaded local, which you cannot beat. Putting your money into your community brings about so much joy and happiness. They sold out quickly of their first batch but just launched the next round this past Friday! So Snag yours soon!
* Alma coffee has subscriptions available as well!
The Woodstock Espresso Martini Recipe:
2oz of Vodka of your choice, we like a medium level vodka for our flavored martinis like absolute, titos. kettle one ect. A vanilla vodkas is * chef’s kiss * in an Espresso Martini
1oz of Fresh Espresso
1/2 oz of Reformation Brewery x Alma Coffee Liqueur
1/4-1/2 oz or just a splash of a simple syrup of your choosing ( we don’t love super sweet in this household so we just do a touch, you can always add more! )
So let’s get to mixin!
Put some ice and water in your martini glass if not previously frozen ( we keep a few in the freezer so we don’t have to do this step)
a chilled martini glass is very important for any of your martinis because they have no ice, so a frozen glass helps keep your cocktail cold!
While your glass is chilling, you’ll add all of these items to your shaker, don’t worry if your espresso is still warm.
Add them to your shaker and shake your heart out, to get the nice foamy top you want to shake your heart out, (generally when you shake a martini you shake it till the outside of the shaker gets frozen, go a little more for an espresso martini so you get the perfect consistency and chilled martini! )
Once you have shaken till you cant shake no more, taste your drink with a straw or spoon in the tin and if its to your liking strain into your empty chilled glass! ]
there is no shame in sampling your shaken cocktails, this makes sure that you and your guests love the drink!
Now the most important part, the garnish, a true Espresso Martini is garnished with 3 espresso beans, for the meaning of Health, Wealth and Happiness. Some fun trivia knowledge for you!
If you try this recipe be sure to let us know! how you like it!
And if you want to bulk make the espresso martini for a party or event follow my recipe below!
Woodstock Espresso Martini Mason Jar Party Starter:
You’ll need one 32 oz mason jar
This will yield 24 oz of Espresso Maritni, with 4 oz per martini making 6 martini’s per jar, you could probably fit one more but you don’t want to over fill.
This is a great thing to do before you have company or an event at your home or if you want to travel with your espresso martinis and make them on vacation or somewhere! This is so easy to travel with you’re going to be obsessed!
For this I kind of eyeballed with the lines on the jar, or you can measure out with a jigger!
12oz of Vodka
6 oz of Espresso
3 oz of of Reformation Brewery x Alma Coffee Liqueur
3 oz (more or less) of a Simple syrup or sweetener
All in the jar and then into the fridge! You can put in the freezer it’ll freeze so be sure if you are putting into the freezdr you leave some room in the jar for expansion or your glass will bust!
Some fun additions you can make!
Some people like making a cold foam to top the espresso martini, this adds a thick creamy top to your drink, great if you are using an espresso alternative.
You can add a coffee flavorer if you want a pumpkin spices espresso martini, caramel, vanilla ect!
top it with ground espresso, cinnamon, coco, white chocolate shavings, with a nice foam on top these light toppings will sit beautifully on top
We loved at the holidays using a vanilla vodka, and adding peppermint schnapps instead of simple syrup for a peppermint espresso martini, finished off with a frozen peppermint chocolate rimmed glass!
Pre-making a few of these were awesome for our holiday party! you also have to use melted chocolate vs chocolate syrup so it freezes!