Over the last few years, the Espresso Martini has become one of the most iconic and in-demand cocktails throughout the United States, catapulting it to its current status as a modern-day classic. It is easily the most influential and popular java drink to come along since the Irish Coffee. The late British bartending icon, Dick Bradsell famously created the drink in the 1980s at the request of a very well-known supermodel who asked for something that would, “Wake her up, then f*ck her up.” Given the Espresso Martini’s meteoric rise in popularity, it should come as no surprise that it has also been the most requested drink for Seven Days Cocktail Co. to create and put its signature touch on.
Though modern variations come in many forms, the original Espresso Martini is a simple combination of vodka, espresso, and coffee liquor. It essentially follows the same template found in everything cocktail-related – a base spirit mixed with sweet and bitter elements in a pleasing balance. The base spirit is vodka, the bitter elements come from the espresso, and the sweet comes from a coffee/espresso liquor. Simple, right? Well, not so fast…simple cocktails like these are always a function of the quality of their inputs…after all, you might have heard the phrase ‘garbage in, garbage out’…well the inverse is also true, quality in, quality out.
Honoring yet elevating the classics being our raison d’etre, we knew there was going to be some lofty expectations awaiting us. So the team at Seven Days enlisted our long-time friend, the esteemed, Lifetime Achievement Award-Winning, 5th Generation Master Coffee Importer and Roaster, Martin Diedrich to consult and advise on everything from coffee bean selection and roast profile, all the way through to the coffee infusion and extraction processes. We experimented with Coffee Shrubs, Coffee Liquors, Cold Brews, water hardness and minerality, spirit infusions, coffee simple syrups and so much more. The challenge we had to overcome was right there in the name. It’s called “Espresso” Martini, not “yesterday's watered-down cold-brew coffee” martini. We were seeking bold espresso flavor and the aromatic profile of a freshly pulled espresso shot at the crack of dawn. This was a study on coffee. Honoring the original formulation yet reconsidering each element of this classic cocktail led us to focus on amplifying the intense flavors you have come to know, love, and expect. Naturally, coffee takes center stage in this stimulating martini cocktail. Our house-made coffee liquor and cold brew coffee have a snappy acidity and flavors of intense marzipan, dried fruit, honeyed caramel, and bittersweet chocolate. We settled on a combination of six distinct origins and four different roast profiles. Paired with our House-Made Oaxacan Vanilla-infused Vodka and rounded out with the addition of our House-Made Cherrywood Smoked Barley Tea this cocktail instantly delivers savory yet sweet flavors with a smooth and velvety body.
What's Inside? House-Made Vanilla Vodka, House Made Espresso Liquor, House-Made Cherrywood Smoked Barley Tea, and Small Batch House-made Cold Brew Coffee
