While its popularity waxed and waned in other markets, somehow the Espresso Martini found its heartland in Australia. Particularly in Melbourne.  Australia’s favourite cocktail reached our shores in the late 1990s thanks to émigré bartenders from the UK and has remained a top seller right through to the 2020s.

The cocktail was invented by Dick Bradsell at Fred’s Club in London in the 1980s – one source gives the date as 1983. The story goes that a young, later-to-be-famous model asked Bradsell to concoct a drink that would “wake her up and fuck her up” and he obliged with a mix of espresso coffee, vodka, coffee liqueur and sugar syrup. The cocktail, originally known simply as a vodka espresso, caught on and became increasingly popular during the 1980s and ’90s.

It’s often referred to as the cocktail that bartenders hate to make, because the classic version requires them to pull a hot shot of espresso coffee and chill it in the freezer before proceeding with the mixing, shaking and pouring. The drink is most popular in places with a strong coffee culture, which explains why, for a couple of decades, it fell out of favour in the USA (except, apparently, in San Francisco, where they have always loved their coffee).

The arrival of the Espresso Martini in Australia coincided with the “cocktail revival”. Aussies have been quaffing cocktails since the mid-19th century, although the term may have been more narrowly defined as “brandy [or another spirit], sugar and bitters”. In the 1920s, women began to embrace  cocktail drinking, and several Australian newspapers reported a plea by an English novelist, Ian Hay Beith, that:

…to restore women to the old pedestal of respect, men…should enter into a solemn covenant “to refuse to give any girl more than one cocktail on any occasion,” and “cease taking them to clubs or music halls where liquor is served.”

The Sidecars and Hanky Pankies of the ’20s and ’30s gave way to the Daiquiris and Martinis of the 1940s and ’50s, when cocktail drinking reached a peak.  Then we discovered wine, and the enthusiasm for hard liquor and exotic mixes cooled for a time, before the craft cocktail revival of the early noughties saw a swing back to classic drinks.

But, as a new generation flocked to trendy bars like Melbourne’s Black Pearl,  Ginger and Gin Palace, there was an upstart cocktail that was a natural fit with our strong coffee culture. The Espresso Martini hit the spot with Australian drinkers, and the rest is history. It’s still, as of 2025, Australia’s favourite cocktail.

Espresso Martini Recipe

50ml vodka
35ml coffee liqueur (such as Kahlua)
1 shot (25ml) of espresso (cooled)
Ice

Put all the ingredients in a shaker and shake well. Pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a few coffee beans.

Enjoy.