The Espresso Martini was already doing perfectly well for itself.
Then we added chai.
Coffee brings roast, bitterness and intensity. Chai brings tea, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and layers of warming spice.
It is a combination that makes an unreasonable amount of sense.
Our Chai Fusion is a liquid concentrate, which makes this particularly easy. No spice syrups to make. No waiting for tea to infuse. Just a proper hit of chai alongside freshly brewed espresso.
Shake it hard.
Pour it cold.
Try not to drink it too quickly.
Chai Espresso Martini Recipe
Makes one cocktail
Ingredients
40ml vodka
30ml fresh espresso
25ml Jeeves & Jericho Chai Fusion
15ml coffee liqueur
Plenty of ice
Coffee beans or a light dusting of cinnamon to garnish
Make the coffee
Start with a fresh espresso.
Let it cool for a few minutes while you get everything else ready.
It does not need to be completely cold, but pouring extremely hot espresso straight onto ice will melt more of it before you have even started shaking.
And we want this properly cold.
Add the chai
Pour the vodka, espresso, Jeeves & Jericho Chai Fusion and coffee liqueur into a cocktail shaker.
Fill generously with ice.
Now shake.
Properly.
An Espresso Martini needs a good shake to chill the drink, dilute it slightly and create that characteristic foam across the top.
Give it around 15 seconds of enthusiasm.
Then strain into a chilled martini or coupe glass.
Finish with a few coffee beans or the lightest dusting of cinnamon.
Done.
Why does chai work with coffee?
Chai and coffee have been getting along for years.
The Dirty Chai already proved that.
Coffee brings deep roasted flavours and bitterness, while chai adds warmth, sweetness and aromatic spice.
Cinnamon feels immediately at home.
Cardamom brings something brighter.
Ginger adds warmth.
Clove brings depth.
Suddenly an Espresso Martini has a lot more going on.
The important thing is balance.
You still want to taste the coffee.
You still want to taste the chai.
Neither should spend the entire drink shouting over the other.
Why use chai concentrate?
This is where concentrate becomes particularly useful.
Traditional masala chai is made by brewing tea and spices, often with milk and sugar.
Brilliant when you are making a cup of chai.
Slightly less convenient when somebody wants a cocktail now.
A chai concentrate gives you tea, spice and sweetness in one ingredient, ready to pour.
For cafés, bars and restaurants, that makes drinks like this considerably easier to reproduce.
Measure.
Shake.
Serve.
The person ordering the second one should get the same drink as the person who ordered the first.
Do I need extra sugar syrup?
We would start without it.
Our Chai Fusion already brings sweetness to the drink, and coffee liqueur adds more.
Make the recipe first and taste it.
If you prefer your Espresso Martini sweeter, add 5ml of simple syrup and try again.
But give the chai and coffee a chance before reaching for the sugar.
There is plenty happening already.
What coffee should I use?
Use espresso you would happily drink.
It sounds obvious, but cocktails have an impressive ability to become a hiding place for ingredients nobody particularly liked on their own.
We are not interested in that.
A balanced espresso with chocolate, caramel or nutty characteristics can work particularly well with chai spice.
But experiment with whatever coffee you are serving.
Different beans will take the drink in completely different directions.
That is part of the fun.
Make it café ready
If you are a café with an evening menu, events programme or alcohol licence, this is an easy way to turn ingredients already sitting behind the bar into something new.
You have the espresso machine.
You have the chai.
Add the cocktail ingredients and you are most of the way there.
It also gives your chai concentrate another job beyond the latte menu.
We like ingredients that can do more than one thing.
Want to make it creamier?
Add a small splash of oat milk before shaking.
You will get a softer, creamier drink with more of a Dirty Chai feel.
Do not add too much.
This is still an Espresso Martini.
It does not need to wake up one morning and discover it has become a latte.
Make it your own
Swap vodka for dark rum for something deeper.
Add a little vanilla if you want to lean into the sweeter spices.
Try an orange twist instead of coffee beans.
Play with the coffee.
Play with the garnish.
Just keep the chai where you can taste it.
Espresso Martini on one side.
Masala chai on the other.
One very good reason to own a cocktail shaker in the middle.