The history of the Espresso Martini
How “martini” moved from gin to coffee
The Espresso Martini is today one of the most recognisable cocktails in the world. It is ordered with confidence in bars from Copenhagen to New York and associated with energy, elegance, and late evenings. Yet, viewed through a classical lens, it is something of an anomaly. It contains neither gin nor vermouth and shares little with the original Martini cocktail. To understand why the name still makes sense, one has to look at how the meaning of the word martini has changed over time.
Originally, a martini was a specific drink. In the late 19th century, cocktails such as the Martinez and later the Martini appeared in early bartender manuals, built around gin and vermouth. By the early 20th century, the Dry Martini had become an icon: cold, restrained, and precise. At this point, there was little ambiguity. A martini was defined by what was in the glass, not by the glass itself.
That clarity began to soften in the mid-20th century. The now-iconic V-shaped martini glass became a visual shorthand for cocktail culture, while vodka martinis rose in popularity. Vermouth was gradually reduced or omitted altogether, and for many drinkers “martini” came to mean a short, strong drink served up, regardless of its ingredients.
It is within this context that the Espresso Martini emerged. Created in London in the early 1980s by bartender Dick Bradsell, the drink was originally known as the Vodka Espresso. The combination of vodka, freshly brewed espresso, sugar, and coffee liqueur was modern and functional: alcohol and caffeine in a single, concentrated serve. When the drink later became known as the Espresso Martini, the name felt natural rather than forced. By then, “martini” already referred more to style and presentation than to specific ingredients.
After falling briefly out of fashion, the Espresso Martini experienced a strong revival in the 2010s, driven by improved coffee culture, renewed interest in cocktail classics, and its striking visual appeal. Today, it is once again among the world’s most ordered cocktails.
The Espresso Martini is not a martini in the classical sense, but it behaves like one. It is served short, without ice, in a stemmed glass. It is intense, focused, and unmistakably an evening drink. In that sense, it delivers exactly what the martini name had come to promise.
The Espresso Martini is not a misunderstanding. It is a result. A product of how cocktails—and the language around them—naturally evolve over time.