Cold Brew Martini - No Espresso Needed! (2024)

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I’m squeaking in one last recipe before the ball drops and we all say see ya to 2021 – fittingly, it’s for a Cold Brew Martini!

If you typically need help staying up until 11:59pm on New Years Eve, this gorgeous, simple, seriously delicious co*cktail might just help you get there!

Cold Brew Martini — No Espresso Required

One of my very favorite shows on TV is Below Deck, where camera crews follow young stewardesses and deck hands as they work on super yachts around the world. Give these people an Emmy – best show on television. Captain Lee’s one liners (NSFIGE) are one of the best things in life, and I always look over my shoulder expecting him to be looking on disapprovingly when my laundry room gets out of sorts. Yikes!

One of the co*cktails the stewardesses are almost constantly making for their demanding clients is Espresso Martinis – a mixture of espresso, vodka, and coffee liqueur. For YEARS I have wanted to try one, but I sold my espresso machine when we moved, and well, ya can’t make an espresso martini without espresso.

Unless you swap espresso for store-bought cold brew concentrate!

Why Use Cold Brew Concentrate

Think of Cold Brew Martinis as the more accessible version of an espresso martini that you can shake up in moments right at home. These cold brew co*cktails deliver a double buzz of caffeine and vodka and are so, so delicious. Sweet but not cloying, with that satisfying coffee undertone.

It almost takes like coffee ice cream mixed with vodka. Yasss.

I debated using cold strong coffee as the base of these martinis, but the concentrate really delivers an espresso-like flavor. Once mixed with the coffee cream liqueur and vodka, the dilution and flavor of the concentrate is perfectly smooth.

How to Make Cold Brew Martinis

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make your own Cold Brew Martini at home:

1. Vodka: I like gluten free Tito’s.
2. Cold Brew Concentrate: I picked up this Starbucks concentrate at Super Target. I see from the product finder on Starbuck’s website that you can also find it at Walmart.
3. Coffee Cream Liqueur: I like Somrus because the label specifically says gluten free. It’s a mixture of coffee, rum, and cream, and is deliciously sweet and syrupy. I love this slightly elevated, creamy swap for the plain coffee liqueur that’s usually used in Espresso Martinis.

I haven’t tested, but if you can’t find Somrus, I ASSUME you could probably swap in Kahlua and add a splash of cream for a similar flavor. This Somrus felt like an awesome find though. I love that it says right on the label that it’s gluten free which is pretty much unheard of in the speciality liqueur industry.

Locals: I got this at Hy-Vee Wall to Wall Wine and Spirits and have also seen it at my regular Hy-Vee.

Ok! Fill your co*cktail shaker halfway up with ice then pour equal parts of all three ingredients inside and shake until extremely cold – 30 seconds.

Pour the martini into a chilled martini glass then sip, sip, hooray! I happen to have a bag of espresso beans, which are edible, in the freezer so I garnish with three, similar to how espresso martinis are garnished (I don’t recommend eating regular roasted coffee beans – they aren’t roasted to a point where they’re easy to eat like espresso beans.)

Whether you enjoy a drink for NYE, or at your next girl’s get together (or on a mega yacht – take me with you!) I hope you love this simple yet scrumptious co*cktail. Enjoy, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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