Who Knew the Espresso Martini Needed a Tropical Twist?

It’s time we embrace the combination of coffee and pineapple. During a coffee cocktail seminar at this year's Tales of The Cocktail in New Orleans, Martin Hudak, co-founder of Sydney's popular cocktail bar Maybe Sammy, shared the recipe for the Espresso Martiki and convinced the audience that pineapple and coffee belong together. Hudak is a coffee cocktail obsessive; he literally wrote the book on coffee cocktails called "Spiritual Coffee: A Written of How Coffee Found Cocktails". 

The Espresso Martiki is one of Hudak’s signature cocktails served at Maybe Sammy. While coffee flavored desserts, drinks, and dishes often lean Italian, coffee is actually a tropical product, sourced in the Southern hemisphere. The old saying, “what grows together, goes together” applies here too. “Coffee is a Caribbean ingredient, and one of the first ever coffee cocktails was found in Cuba,” says Hudak. “Coffee and rum are a wonderful combination." — Lucy Simon

Frequently asked questions

What is orgeat?

Orgeat is a sweetened cocktail syrup made from a base of almonds sweetened with sugar and mixed with flavoring like citrus, or floral essences like rose water and orange extract. The result is an aromatic syrup that is thicker and more flavor-forward than simple syrup.

How do you make an Espresso Martini?

If you're wondering how to make a traditional Espresso Martini, we've got you covered. You'll need espresso and coffee liqueur, but the original cocktail calls for vodka instead of pineapple juice and orgeat.

What other cocktails can I make with dark rum?

Once you've added a bottle of dark rum to your back bar, consider making a classic Mai Tai or Piña Colada. Check out our favorite dark rum cocktails.