The year was 2018 and London was crying out for a serious espresso martini upgrade.
We have all heard the origin story of the espresso martini. A glamorous 1980s model walks into a swanky Soho bar, seeking a drink to ‘wake me up and then f*ck me up’. And so, the espresso martini was born. Not so much a story of craft, romance and refinened bartending and more a cheap means to an end.
After 40 years of dull, poorly extracted, commodity grade coffee paired with run of the mill coffee liqueurs, it was time to rip up the recipe. We were seeking an espresso martini that showcased the rich decadence of fine specialty coffee, with the traceability credentials to match. Enter, Midnight Oil.
Midnight Oil was created by Climpson & Sons; specialty coffee experts and industry leaders, challenging the boundaries of how we enjoy coffee through a focus on quality, flavour and hospitality. With over two decades of being on the cutting edge of London's speciality coffee scene and redefining the UK coffee industry along the way, who better to develop a quality ready-to-serve espresso martini, with a refined flavour profile just as good as your morning coffee?
And the name, Midnight Oil? We think it sounds just right for a cocktail range with a caffeine boost, allowing any discerning drinker to keep burning the midnight oil into the early hours.
The Not-So-Secret Ingredient
Okay, it’s no big secret given our back story. As coffee roasters, when we first decided to make a shake and go espresso martini, the first step had to be expertly roasted, quality coffee. This combined with other complimentary premium ingredients, and a small batch production at our roastery in East London has proven to be a recipe for mixology magic.
Following our ethos of quality we didn’t just want to replicate a drink that can be produced anywhere. We wanted a drink that was unique, with each ingredient elevating the natural characteristics already found in specialty coffee. This produced a drink deep in flavour, yet well-balanced and highly sippable.
The base ingredient is our very own Midnight Oil coffee liqueur - featuring exceptional coffee from Daterra in Brazil, a bespoke blend of aged rum from Guyana, unaged Caribbean light Rum, Madagascan vanilla and Costa Rican cacao. We then add extra coffee and blend with a touch of sugar and British wheat vodka for the ultimate espresso martini. Ready. To. Serve.
Traceability
From the bean to the bar, we care about where our ingredients come from. Midnight Oil Espresso Martini is made using fully traceable coffee from Daterra in Brazil. We have sourced beans from Daterra for over 14 years and counting and have visited the farm on several occasions throughout the years to meet the people behind the beans and witness their sustainability practices first hand.
This means, unlike other mass-produced ready to serve espresso martini brands, we can proudly shout from the rooftops about the inspiring things that are happening at this coffee’s source; from committing to planting three-million native trees by 2023 to groundbreaking research in coffee cultivation through their nursery programme. Find out more about Daterra here.
Innovative Production
As pioneers on the specialty coffee scene, we combined our expertise and roasting skills with research and a little bit of trial and error experimentation to find the very best processing method for our espresso martini. We settled on an innovative flash-brewing technique. First we brew the coffee with hot water, then we flash-chill it, to extract and lock in the flavours and delicate aromas that you’d expect from freshly brewed espresso. A unique specialty coffee process and a unique specialty coffee product.
Oh and those art deco inspired graphic bottles. They’re innovative too and made with post-consumer recycled wild glass.
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And the story continues.
After the success of our espresso martini, we decided to launch a stand-alone coffee liqueur as part of the growing Midnight Oil range. This has allowed some of London’s best bartenders to get creative with our product. The espresso martini is obviously iconic, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to coffee cocktails. Over the last few years we’ve seen it all, from banana martinis (yes, I know) to classy coffee negronis. Both our espresso martini and coffee liqueur are consistent winners in the reputable Great Taste Awards.
We drink a lot of coffee over here and appreciate the time and place for a quality decaf offering. That’s why we decided to launch one of London’s first Decaf Espresso Martinis and Decaf Coffee Liqueurs. Ideal for even-later cocktail drinking that won’t give you the jitters at 3am.
We also saw a gap in the market for a stand-alone Coffee Concentrate. This hot-brewed flash-chilled product forms the base of both our Midnight Oil Coffee Liqueur and Midnight Oil Espresso Martini and has a variety of uses for both home coffee drinkers and hospitality businesses alike. Ideal for an instant iced latte, guaranteed good coffee when travelling or sponge-soaking for a tiramisu. Also available as a Decaf Coffee Concentrate in both 1 litre bottles and 5 litre bag-in-box commercial sizes.
