This Salted Caramel Espresso Martini is inspired by a caramel macchiato, and it's so easy to make! It has all the classic ingredients like vodka and espresso, but with the addition of salted caramel sauce that goes perfectly with coffee. Great for fall, winter, and the holidays, but it's delicious any time of the year!
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Why You'll Love This Espresso Martini
Caramel twist on the popular cocktail - This cocktail has been very popular for a while, and the classic version should be available at pretty much every bar or restaurant now. One of my favorite things to do is come up with different flavors for popular drinks, and caramel goes so well with coffee (hello Caramel Macchiato!), that it was a no-brainer to come up with a caramel version of this drink!
So easy to make - There are no homemade syrups in this cocktail or any surprising special ingredients. Just your classic espresso martini vodka, espresso, and coffee liqueur, with the addition of salted caramel sauce, which most of us already have at home for our coffee in the morning!
Ingredients
- Vodka - This is a classic for any espresso martini. It's neutral in taste and helps the coffee to stand out. If you want to make it extra special, use caramel vodka for even more flavor! You can always use other spirits like dark rum or bourbon if you prefer, like I did in this Rum Espresso Martini.
- Coffee liqueur - This adds a little bit of sweetness and coffee flavor. Kahlua is the most popular and most available one.
- Fresh espresso - You'll want to use only espresso for this cocktail for the best flavor and foam. Cold brew or regular drip coffee won't be the same. The quality of your coffee and how fresh it is will also affect the foam (mine wasn't that great in the photos, and the foam fell quickly). Decaf coffee tends to create less foam.
- Salted caramel sauce - While you can make this at home, I usually use store-bought sauce. I like the 365 brand because it doesn't have any corn syrup. Keep in mind, this sauce usually isn't dairy-free. Salted caramel syrup would also work here, and it's usually vegan.
Variations and Substitutions
- Mocktail version - I actually have a separate Espresso Martini Mocktail you can check out, it's super simple, creamy, and has a little bit of cacao powder. Just swap the cinnamon simple syrup for salted caramel sauce and omit the cacao if you prefer.
- Decaf coffee - You can use decaffeinated coffee beans or decaf espresso capsules in your espresso maker if you wish.
- Regular caramel sauce - If you only have caramel sauce without salt, you can add a small pinch of sea salt to the shaker to still have that salted caramel flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add the vodka, coffee liqueur, salted caramel sauce, and a freshly brewed shot of espresso to a cocktail shaker.
- Swirl the ingredients around for a second to help melt the caramel sauce so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
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- Add a handful of ice, close the shaker with a lid, and shake the cocktail vigorously for about 10 seconds until very frothy.
- Strain the drink into a coupe glass (or a martini glass), and garnish with 3 coffee beans. Enjoy!
Tips for the Best Espresso Martini
- Quality coffee - An espresso martini is only as good as your coffee. Ideally, you want to use a proper espresso machine. I only have a Nespresso maker, which works fine, but it won't give you the same beautiful foam as a classic, good-quality espresso would.
- Don't water down your cocktail - If you let your cocktail sit in the cocktail shaker for too long with ice or you use syrup that's too watery, the cocktail will get watered down too much, and it will have less foam.
- Use bigger ice cubes - Using bigger ice cubes that melt more slowly helps to prevent the drink from getting watered down.
- Don't shake it for too long - You need 10 seconds of very vigorous shaking to get proper foam. If you shake it for too long, the drink will again get too watered down, and the foam will dilute.
- Dry shake - This is shaking the cocktail without any ice first, and then shaking it again with ice. You will have to use cooled espresso for this, or do a reverse dry shake (with ice first and then without). It's said that this is what creates the proper thick foam you see on cocktails at good bars and restaurants.
FAQs
There are mixed opinions on this, but I usually add hot espresso. I find it's mostly about how you shake it, which determines how good your foam is. I like using a stainless steel shaker and adding the espresso first. That way it cools down a little bit by the time I add the ice and doesn't get too watered down. You can also brew it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. It is said that espresso gets more bitter if you let it sit for too long.
Other Espresso Martini Cocktails
It's no secret that the espresso martini is one of my favorite cocktails to make and come up with different flavors. There are so many variations you can create! Below are a few of my favorites, but if you want to see all the latest ones and other cocktails, head over to Cocktail Recipes.
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Have you tried this Salted Caramel Espresso Martini? Please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
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Print📖 Recipe
Salted Caramel Espresso Martini
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cocktail
- Method: No cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Salted Caramel Espresso Martini is inspired by a caramel macchiato, and it's so easy to make! It has all the classic ingredients like vodka and espresso, but with the addition of salted caramel sauce that goes perfectly with coffee!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz vodka
- ½ oz coffee liqueur like Kahlua
- ½-¾ oz salted caramel sauce
- 1 shot of espresso
- Ice
- 3 coffee beans for garnish
Instructions
- Add the vodka, coffee liqueur, salted caramel sauce, and a freshly brewed shot of espresso to a cocktail shaker.
- Swirl the ingredients around for a second to help melt the caramel sauce so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
- Add a handful of ice and shake the cocktail vigorously for about 10 seconds until very frothy.
- Strain the drink into a coupe glass and garnish with 3 coffee beans. Enjoy!
Notes
Caramel garnish: You can dip the rim of your glass in salted caramel sauce and dip it in coarse sugar to make the cocktail extra fancy. You can also drizzle the finished drink with more caramel sauce, but it will most likely sink to the bottom fairly quickly.
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