The espresso martini has become the drink everyone orders and nobody gets tired of. It shows up at every bar in Britain, on every menu, ordered by people who swore off nightcaps years ago. We make honey spirits for a living, so naturally we couldn't leave this one alone. Here's our version, built around Wiltshire honey vodka instead of sugar syrup.
Espresso Martini
There's a reason this drink outsells almost everything else on a UK cocktail list. It does two jobs at once. You get the lift of coffee and the warmth of a proper spirit in one glass, and somehow that combination never gets old.
A good espresso martini arrives with a thick layer of foam sitting on top, like a tiny cappuccino that's had one too many. People order it because it photographs well and because it tastes like a treat rather than a nightcap.
Coffee and alcohol have been paired together for centuries, from Irish coffee to tiramisu, and the espresso martini just found the cleanest way to do it in a cocktail glass.
What honey adds
A classic espresso martini leans on sugar syrup to soften the bitterness of the espresso. It works, but it can taste a little flat, a straightforward sweetness with nothing behind it.
Honey brings something more layered. Our Wiltshire honey has a floral, slightly caramelised note that plays against coffee rather than simply cancelling it out. Where sugar syrup smooths a drink, honey seasons it.
Our honey vodka starts as a clean, neutral spirit, and we soften it with honey from our own Wiltshire hives.
The Beeble version
It's the drink we kept making for ourselves after long days at the hives, coffee and a proper drink in one glass.
The Beeble version uses our Honey Vodka as the base, a good measure of coffee liqueur, and fresh espresso or cold brew depending on what's open in your kitchen. No sugar syrup needed, since the honey vodka is already carrying that job, which also means one less bottle cluttering your bar.
Ingredients and method
Ingredients (makes one cocktail)
- 50ml Beeble Honey Vodka
- 25ml coffee liqueur
- 25ml fresh espresso or strong cold brew, chilled
- A few coffee beans, to garnish
- Ice
Method
- Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds full with ice.
- Add the honey vodka, coffee liqueur, and espresso.
- Shake hard for around 15 seconds. This is the step that builds the foam, so don't hold back.
- Strain into a chilled martini glass.
- Float three coffee beans on top for the finishing touch.
Variation to try: swap the coffee liqueur for a splash of Beeble Honey Rum alongside your usual measure. It softens the bitterness further and adds a warmer, slightly spiced note that works particularly well in autumn and winter.
Cold brew vs fresh espresso
Both work, and the choice really comes down to what you've got to hand and how much bitterness you want.
Fresh espresso gives a sharper, more robust coffee cocktail with a slightly bitter edge that cuts nicely through the honey. If you have a machine or a stovetop pot, it's worth the extra two minutes.
Cold brew is smoother and rounder. It's the better option if you're making a batch ahead of a dinner party, since it holds its flavour in the fridge for days and won't turn bitter the way leftover espresso can.
The perfect foam
It's the difference between a good espresso martini and a great one, and it comes down to two things: shake time and ice.
You want a full 15 seconds of hard, sustained shaking so the espresso has properly aerated.
Use plenty of ice and shake until the shaker feels genuinely cold to hold. That's your sign the drink is chilled and the foam has formed properly.
Make it with Beeble
However you take your espresso martini, we'd love to see what you make. This is one of those drinks that rewards a bit of experimenting, so once you've got the base method down, it's worth trying it a few different ways.
If this has whetted your appetite for something new behind the bar, our Bee's Knees is another honey spirit classic worth shaking up. And for a full spread of ideas, 10 Honey Cocktail Recipes has plenty more where this came from.
