I love coffee so, unsurprisingly, the espresso martini is my guiltiest pleasure and I’m very excited for the opportunity to create one of my own for the
@gallianococktails espresso martini competition.
Some of my favorite coffees have come from Colombia, Brazil, and Jamaica, who cultivate almost exclusively Arabica coffee beans. This coffee thrives in tropical environments and comprises the majority of the beans used to produce
@gallianococktails Espresso liqueur. So, when I thought about this cocktail, I thought about terroir and compatible flavors. I decided to utilize pineapple and mango to introduce a light fruitiness and slight acidity that provides a bit more complexity while nicely complementing the rich espresso and chocolate notes of the liqueur. I chose to use an aged Jamaican rum as my base spirit because its notes of fruit, spice, and caramel pair nicely with the flavor of coffee and I added a bit of banana liqueur to round out the fruity and tropical flavors of the cocktail. Finally, I used fresh espresso which I feel provides a necessary bitterness to balance the cocktail and because I’ll never pass up an opportunity to drink more coffee 😋
40 mL aged Jamaican rum
20 mL Galliano Espresso liqueur
30 mL espresso
10 mL spiced pineapple-mango syrup*
5 mL banana liqueur
Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake with ice to dilute. Strain into the other tin and immersion blend until frothy. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with orange oils and a dehydrated pineapple wheel.
*To make the syrup:
Add 100 g frozen mango (thawed), 100 g frozen pineapple (thawed), 200 g water, 200 g dark brown sugar, 12 g cinnamon sticks, 5 g whole allspice, and 2 pinches of salt (about 1/16 tsp) to a pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Let cool, then strain.
