Espresso Martini

Dick Bradsell, Soho Brasserie, London, 1983. Bradsell claims the drink was requested by a then-unknown supermodel who wanted a drink to wake her up and then intoxicate her. The drink was originally called the Vodka Espresso, then the Pharmaceutical Stimulant, before settling on Espresso Martini in the mid-1990s as the drink spread through London's bar scene.

The Espresso Martini is modern bartending's most requested drink and Dick Bradsell's most enduring creation — vodka, fresh espresso, coffee liqueur, and simple syrup shaken into a glossy, caffeinated cocktail that delivers the pleasure of coffee and the purpose of a spirit simultaneously. Created at the Soho Brasserie in London in 1983 for a model who reportedly requested something to 'wake me up and then mess me up,' it is now the defining cocktail of the 2020s global bar scene. The drink's engineering challenge is the foam: the three-coffee-bean garnish on a thick, stable foam is the visual signature of a correctly made Espresso Martini, and achieving it requires hot, freshly pulled espresso shaken hard against ice.

FOOD PAIRING: The Espresso Martini's bitter-coffee, vanilla-sweet profile pairs with chocolate and caramel desserts. Provenance 1000 pairings: tiramisu (the ultimate pairing — coffee in the glass mirrors the espresso-soaked savoiardi), chocolate lava cake (coffee bitterness amplifies dark chocolate), salted caramel tart (salt-coffee-caramel trinity), affogato service (as the cocktail version of the same concept), and dark chocolate truffles with sea salt.