Grappa Espresso Martini

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (18 ratings)
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    Grappa Espresso Martini

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Grappa Espresso Martini image

Photographed in a Retro Coupe Engraved 7.75oz

Ingredients:
1 1⁄3 oz Nonino Il Moscato Grappa Monovitigno
1 oz Espresso coffee (freshly brewed & hot)
2⁄3 oz Galliano Espresso Coffee liqueur
1⁄12 oz Demerara/Muscovado/brown sugar syrup (2 sugar to 1 water)
2 drop Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water)
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
  2. Prepare coffee beans for garnish.
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. Garnish with 3 coffee beans floated in a petal formation in the centre of the cocktail's foamy head.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 6/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile
Cocktail of the day:

23rd November 2025 is National Espresso Day

Review:

Grappa is made to go with espresso coffee and adds its distinctive flavour to this cocktail originally made with vodka.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Aged Grappa Espresso Martini

History:

See the story behind the Espresso Martini.

Nutrition:

One serving of Grappa Espresso Martini contains 113 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.2 standard drinks
  • 17.8% alc./vol. (17.8° proof)
  • 16.5 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 4 comments for Grappa Espresso Martini.
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Matt’s Avatar Matt
25th June at 01:08
The same recipe as an Espresso Martini (Diffords), but with grappa in place of vodka. A medium dark brown, very cloudy and barely translucent, with a tight, fine tan head that is surprisingly persisitent. Absolutely delicious espresso flavor, moderately sweet. I'll take this over a vodka base espresso martini! I used a ristretto shot to get the 30 ml.
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Simon Sedgley’s Avatar Simon Sedgley
7th April at 16:37
With an Espresso Martini, the almost impossible decision is to go with Cognac or Grappa. This one benefits from a looong shake to get a lovely foamy head.
1
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justin elghanian’s Avatar justin elghanian
3rd November 2022 at 15:03
Would you go for a ristretto concentrated espresso shot or a weaker lungo espresso? Will the grappa still come through with a concentrated espresso shot?
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Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
3rd November 2022 at 15:18
Grappa has a robust flavour so I'd say, depending on your coffee and roast, that concentrated shot should be fine.
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justin elghanian’s Avatar justin elghanian
22nd October 2022 at 22:53
Does it need to be Moscato grappa specifically or can it be a different kind of grappa like Cividina or Euganea here?
1
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Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
23rd October 2022 at 09:10
Moscato grappa is my own favourite as so aromatic but other grappas will be their own character to this cocktail.
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