The method
How to make it
Pull the espresso first and set it aside, sixty seconds of cooling keeps a hot shot from melting your ice into dishwater.
Park your martini glass or coupe in the freezer, or pack it with ice water while you build.
Load the shaker: vodka, coffee liqueur, chocolate syrup, the espresso, two drops of vanilla and a small pinch of sea salt, the salt doesn't read as salty, it just turns the chocolate volume up.
Fill with fresh ice, seal it, and shake like it owes you money for a full 15 seconds. The crema on top only comes from a violent shake.
Empty the glass and double strain the drink into the middle so the foam builds evenly.
Give the foam twenty seconds to set, then land three coffee beans in the center, tradition says they stand for health, wealth and happiness.
The serve
How to present it
Stemware only, this drink dies in a warm glass held by a warm hand. If you're feeling flash, lace the inside of the empty glass with a thin spiral of chocolate syrup before you pour. It's a dessert-course drink: bring it out as the plates leave, and serve it the second the foam settles, because an espresso martini has a five-minute prime and no second act.
Make it yours
Swaps & variations
Swap the vodka for aged rum and it goes full tiramisu; swap it for reposado tequila with a barspoon of Licor 43 and you're in carajillo country. No Godiva? Any creme de cacao, or an extra half ounce of chocolate syrup, holds the line. Decaf works fine after eight; nobody at the table will know, including you.
Keep pouring
