Creamy Espresso Martini with Baileys (2024)

Ingredients

Vodka

Vodka is the base liquor in this co*cktail like in the original espresso martini. There’s no need for a special bottle since all (or at least most) vodka is the same.

Espresso

If you have an espresso coffee machine, go ahead and and pull a shot of fresh espresso. If you aren’t lucky enough to have your own, you can buy a shot from your favorite local coffee shop.

Or sub in instant espresso powder like the one pictured below. Some people also make espresso martinis with cold brew coffee. Whatever you do, make it strong.

I always have a jar of this espresso powder in my pantry because coffee amps up other flavors, especially chocolate, like in these caramel espresso brownies, triple layer chocolate cake and peanut butter drip cake. It’s also a key ingredient in my triple coffee cookies, coffee and walnut loaf cake, or the coffee syrup for a tiramisu layer cake or Biscoff tiramisu.

Coffee liqueur

An espresso martini needs coffee liqueur. I’ll encourage you to do a taste test of coffee liqueurs.

Tia Maria (left) is sweeter with a stronger taste of alcohol. The Kahlua (right) is darker and has a stronger coffee flavor. There are now lots of delicious small brew coffee liqueurs, and any coffee liqueur will work in this Baileys espresso martini.

Baileys Irish Cream

Baileys Irish Cream is a liqueur made with Irish whiskey, cream, sugar, and cocoa. Although the liqueur was inspired by The Bailey’s Hotel, the trademark leaves out the apostrophe.

You could buy a bottle of Baileys Espresso Cream in place of the classic Irish cream and coffee liqueur, but there’s nothing worse than buying bottles for single co*cktails – hello, creme de violette, we’re looking at you!

Variations and substitutions

• Make a classic espresso martini with vodka, espresso, and coffee liqueur.
• Substitute an equal amount of rum for the vodka to make a rum espresso martini, or use gin for a gin espresso martini.
• Substitute the Frangelico you bought to make Frangelico sours and use it in place of the coffee liqueur for a hazelnut espresso martini.
• Sub cream for the Baileys to make your creamy espresso martini with cream.
• Make an Espresso Martini mocktail.

Recipe tips and tricks

The original espresso martini was created by Dick Bradsell in the 1980s. There are not many truly famous bartenders, but he is the source of many famous modern co*cktails, including the espresso martini and Bramble.

Key technique: the dry shake

There are supposedly different shaking techniques for co*cktails, but one you really need to know. For a frothy espresso martini that mimics espresso crema, I shake longer than normal, about 20 seconds. But to not dilute my drink, I need to do a dry shake.

The dry shake is used to make foam and froth in egg white co*cktails like a vodka sour or Aperol sour. For a regular dry shake, put your co*cktail ingredients in a co*cktail shaker without ice and shake hard for 20 to 30 seconds. Then add about a half cup of ice cubes, and shake to chill. Pour into a chilled glass, garnish, and serve immediately.

However, if you’ve just pulled a shot of espresso, your espresso will be HOT and you need to cool it quickly. So there’s a reverse dry shake.

Shake briefly (about 10 seconds) with ice to chill your espresso martini ingredients. Discard the ice, and then do a hard dry shake to make your espresso martini frothy and creamy.

Recipe FAQs

Related co*cktail recipes

Check out other popular co*cktails from the Ugly Duckling Bakery beverage archives including:

Servings: 1

Calories: 292kcal

This Creamy Espresso Martini with Baileys is richer and a bit sweeter than the classic. Enjoy it as an after dinner or afternoon co*cktail.

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Nutrition

Calories: 292kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 49mg | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 1mg