It’s been around 40 years since the espresso martini was first established in London by Soho based bartender Dick Bradsell. Since then the world renowned beverage has been experimented on, in numerous ways and forms. It’s not a rarity to see an espresso martini can at your local supermarket and certainly not uncommon to discover a variety of different coffee based cocktails on a night out.
Now, 40 years on, the transition to what we now see has been a revolution of sorts, a number of variations have been made, it’s not only espresso martini as the solo representative on bar menus, for espresso based cocktails. In general the coffee liqueur scene in the UK has changed greatly within that time, this has interlaced with the improvements in better quality coffee and why not combine that to create the best espresso martini recipe. Our idea was to represent just that with a mixture of special ingredients. Why not when there’s so many good products to play with right?
Here at Climpson & Sons we decided to get involved; we created an espresso martini using our house espresso The Baron and the journey is far from over, we now have our Midnight Oil coffee liqueur and Oat White Russian. But what makes ours different?
It's one of the UK's top-selling cocktails, everybody loves it and won’t stop ordering it. We thought it was about time to reinvent this classic cocktail. Not only the ingredients in it but also the way it’s dispensed and served. Our options include everything from 500ml espresso martini bottles to 20 litre kegs which can be served on tap.
We are one of the first specialty coffee roasters in the UK to journey into this sector and having the unique position of our coffee background, we have achieved a truly unique product, aligned with our values of excellence, quality and flavour.
Climpson & Sons Espresso Martini is a delicious, crafted, decadent coffee cocktail using premium ingredients to give a modern twist on the classic. At Climpson’s we pride ourselves on our coffee, so for us, the homemade espresso martini was an obvious and fun project from the outset. Following the company’s ethos of quality we didn’t just want to replicate a drink that can be produced anywhere, we wanted a drink that was unique and each ingredient promotes the natural characteristics of coffee and had depth in flavour, yet well-balanced and delicious.
With the introduction of our new coffee roastery in East London, we have been able to allocate a specific section to work on our espresso martini and coffee cocktail production.
Here at Climpson & Sons we have been paving the way by sourcing and roasting the world's greatest coffees to the highest standard, appealing to a consumer desiring quality and provenance. So Climpson & Sons Espresso Martini is no different.
The Climpsons’ Espresso Martini Ingredients and Method
We source our coffee from all over the world, we have a plethora to choose from; for the After Hours range we've chosen a coffee from Brazil, its profile works well with rich flavours and has a well rounded, full-bodied mouthfeel. Also, Daterra Estate is considered the benchmark of sustainable coffee farming. This coffee is then brewed using a technique called flash brew, where we brew the coffee with hot water and then rapidly chill it to extract and lock in all the flavour and delicate aromas you expect from an espresso. We then add cacao from Costa Rica and bourbon vanilla from Madagascar.
The alcohol is excellent too. We use our friends British Wheat vodka from East London Liquor Company, which is an exceptional local product. And secondly, we have created a bespoke rum for the coffee liqueur, a blend of 4 year old demerara rum from Guyana and 2 year blanco from Dominican Republic, this gives lovely caramel and nutty notes with the demerara rum and the blanco gives structure, we import the rum at 80% then dilute to 40% with filter coffee to give an extra boost of coffee profile.
For the perfect serve and if you are looking for an easy espresso martini recipe, just follow these three steps -
- Chill your glass
- Pour out 130ml of Climpson & Sons espresso martini from a nitropress, cocktail shaker or beer tap
- Allow head to settle
With the success of the espresso martini we aim to continue the journey by creating new products and expanding our range. It's been a great journey so far and it’s only just beginning.
If you’d like to keep up to date with our news then feel free to follow the Climpson & Sons After Hours Instagram account for regular updates and our new Christmas cocktail recipes and more.
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