My version of this now modern classic 2 oz vodka
1 oz espresso
0.5 oz coffee liqueur
0.25 oz demerara syrup (2 parts demerara sugar to 1 part water)
Garnish: coffee bean if you want to waste one, bitters is a nicer aromatic element
This next part isn't particularly important. I don't really make vodka cocktails at home, and we only really keep a bottle around for cocktail development and for guests. But in this situation, I will just admit that while the Espresso Martini is a modern classic, and it certainly is that, I don't actually like most vodka based versions of it. It feels a little "empty" and depth-less, and just an excuse to mix coffee with your booze. Which is great! We all need our excuses, and vodka drinkers need their coffee cocktails as much as anyone else. That said, when we made these for a brunch recently, I took the idea and ran right into this household's favorite spirit category overall - RUM. I've been obsessed with Rum and coffee ever since a dessert cocktail at a rum dinner a decade or so ago. This slaps, as the cool people say.
2 oz aged rum (this is 1 oz aged Barbados, 1 oz aged Jamaican)
1 oz espresso
0.5 oz chocolate liqueur
0.5 oz coffee liqueur
4-5 dashes of Peychaud's (will lean licorice in aromatics) or Angostura (will lean toward baking spice notes) - I used Bitter Queen Tobacco Bitters, which are a riff on Angostura's aromatics)
Future article on coffee liqueurs maybe, because they vary SOOOOOO much, from sugar content to ABV, to styles of coffee.