Espresso Martini

Also vodka espresso, pharmaceutical stimulant

Vodka, coffee liqueur and fresh espresso shaken to a foam and served up. Dick Bradsell's 1980s London cocktail, now a global bar standard.

With spiritsServed coldFrom United Kingdom

Volume
115ml3.9 US fl oz
Espresso
1shot
Caffeine
64mgderived, USDA FDC
Glass
Serving glass200 ml

The build

Watch it made, step by step
Serving glass, 200 ml. Layers in pouring order from the bottom, drawn by volume.
  1. Spirit50 ml43%
  2. Spirit30 ml26%
  3. Espresso30 ml26%
  4. Syrup5 ml4%
  5. Ice0 ml0%
Volume
115ml
Caffeine
64mg
Espresso
1shot

Scales every component together, so the ratio holds; caffeine scales with the coffee.

Vodka, coffee liqueur and a fresh shot shaken hard and strained into a coupe; three coffee beans on the foam.

Caffeine

Derived
64mg

in a 115 ml espresso martini

Derived per shot: USDA FoodData Central FDC 171891 (espresso, restaurant-prepared) lists 212 mg per 100 g; a standard 30 g shot is about 63.6 mg, times 1 shot(s). Real values vary with dose, roast and species (robusta roughly doubles it).

USDA FoodData Central record 175097 · read 2026-10-26

A derived figure: the reference food's caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee in this build. Real cups vary with the coffee, the dose and the shot.

Variants by country

2
NameCountryHow it differs
vodka espressoUnited KingdomThe original name.
caffè correttoItalyHot Italian spirit coffee.

History

Popular account

Wikidata records England as country of origin, Dick Bradsell as inventor and IBA official cocktail status. Bradsell made it at the Soho Brasserie in 1983 (popular account).

London, 1980s.

Popular account

Parts of this story are repeated widely but were not confirmed against a source this atlas accepts. They are kept as the story people tell, not as fact.

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