Espresso Martini

 

I like this cocktail largely because of the amazing Guinness-like head you can achieve with a vigorous shaking. The following recipe is from Mr Black, the Australian coffee liqueur brand made from vodka and cold brew.

Espresso Martini

1 oz Mr Black coffee liqueur
1 oz vodka
1 oz freshly brewed espresso (or strong coffee, or cold brew concentrate)
1 teaspoon simple syrup

Add ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake hard, for longer than you really want to, to create the foamy head. Strain into a cocktail glass. Use coffee beans to garnish (not pictured, sadly).

Frozen Mexican Martini

 

I don't have the exact recipe, yet. But this Frozen Mexican Martini, from Austin cocktail bar Holiday, was epic. The ingredients are listed on their website as LALO blanco tequila, triple sec, lime, salt, and olive brine. I enjoyed the whack of salinity. If you're not immediately able to visit the bar yourself, try my recipe for the non-frozen version.

Clover Club (with raspberries)

 

A few years ago I posted a Clover Club recipe featuring grenadine, a syrup made from pomegranates, but who's got the time or inclination to keep a bottle of that around? Not I. So here's an alternative recipe, from Liquor.com, using a syrup you can make when you find yourself with a punnet of fresh raspberries that need addressing.

Clover Club (with raspberries)

2 oz gin

0.5 oz lemon juice

0.5 oz raspberry syrup*
1 egg white

* To make the raspberry syrup, add 1 cup of water and 0.5 cup water to a pot and stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat to low, add 0.5 cup fresh raspberries, and macerate into a pulp. Fine strain to remove seeds.

Add the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

Martini (Plymouth Gin)

 

This is my go-to Martini recipe, after several hundred experiments in the name of art, science, and good governance. I use Plymouth Gin, because it's lighter on the juniper and has this clean, almost mineral flavor that I find to be particularly more-ish. Plus I grew up not too far from Plymouth, in southwest England, so it's part of my origin story.

Noilly Prat Extra Dry has been my dry vermouth of choice for years. It adds a slightly bitter, floral note without trying to take over. The orange bitters, a more recent addition, adds a hint of zest.

I prefer to garnish with olives rather than a citrus twist, to enhance the cocktail's savoriness. The drink pictured above contained blue cheese-stuffed olives, which I've been obsessed with ever since I watched a guy with a cowboy hat ask for one in a New Orleans bar and the bartender proceeded to hand-stuff the olives in front of him. I hope he tipped well.

Martini (Plymouth Gin)

2 oz Plymouth Gin
0.5 oz Noilly Prat Extra Dry vermouth
Two dashes orange bitters

Add the ingredients to a cocktail glass with ice. Stir well. Strain into a chilled martini (or Nick and Nora) glass. Garnish with olives. Drink while cold.

Christmas Margarita

 

Tequila + coconut = Good Christmas. We couldn't find any white cranberry juice so went with Ocean Spray's "White Cran-Strawberry", which works great and gives the drink an ever-so-slightly pink tinge, which makes the whole thing even more Christmassy. Thanks to my friend Jen for the recipe, which apparently came from TikTok.

Christmas Margarita

1.5 oz blanco tequila
1 oz triple sec

1.5 oz white cranberry juice

0.5 oz lime juice

1 tablespoon cream of coconut

Place all the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a tumbler with fresh ice. Garnish with an actual cranberry and a sprig of something green and aromatic.