Vodka Espresso

Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (44 ratings)

Serve in an

Old-fashioned glass
Ingredients:
50 ml Ketel One Vodka
45 ml Espresso coffee (freshly brewed & hot)
20 ml De Kuyper Crème de Cafe
5 ml Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water, 65.0°Brix)
Loading...
× 1

Read about cocktail measures and measuring.

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of float 3 coffee beans in the centre of the drink, arranged in a flower petal formation.
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into ice-filled glass.

Review:

Vodka and coffee combine in this tasty wake-up call.

History:

Created circa 1983 by Dick Bradsell while bartending at the Soho Brasserie on Old Compton Street, London who created his Vodka Espresso for a woman, said to be an "American model," who famously asked for "Something that's gonna wake me up, then fuck me up."

The Vodka Expresso
SHAKE
50mls good vodka
12.5mls Kahlua
1 dash of sugar
A shot of extra extra strong espresso coffee.
Shake on ice. Pour all over rocks in a small old fashioned glass.
Two sipper straws (optional).

Dick Bradsell, 2010s

Over a decade later, this cocktail was tweaked and served straight-up to become the much better-known Espresso Martini and you can read more about both cocktails on our Espresso Martini page.

Nutrition:

One serving of Vodka Espresso contains 189 calories.

Alcohol content:

  • 1.3 standard drinks
  • 14.71% alc./vol. (29.42° proof)
  • 17.6 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.

Join the Discussion


... comment(s) for Vodka Espresso

You must log in to your account to make a comment.

Report comment

You must be logged in to upvote or downvote a comment

Click here to login
Welcome to Difford's Guide

All editorial and photography on this website is copyright protected

© Odd Firm of Sin 2025