Coffee Martini

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                                     Coffee Martini

While it is true that in the past I’ve used coffee as a wild card in my search for rum cocktails for pairings, for this pairing I deliberately opted to use a recipe known as Espresso Martini.  This cocktail calls for equal parts of vodka, coffee liqueur and an espresso.  In order to give it a rum character, I have to select the ingredients carefully, which I did as follows:

  • 1 oz Trois Riviere VSOP – Rhum Vieux Agricole from Martinique
  • 1 oz Flor de Caña Coffee Liquor from Nicaragua
  • 1 oz Espresso Britt from Costa Rica

I am now going to share some tips that will help you recreate the cocktail at home, the simplest way possible.  Start by chilling the Martini glass and have a cocktail shaker ready.  Make sure the espresso is cold, then add all the ingredients to the shaker, fill it with ice and shake for about 30 seconds.  As you strain the contents into the Martini glass, the ingredients will be well-mixed at first, but after a few seconds you’ll see that the foam separates from the mixture, rising to the top.  At this time you can garnish the cocktail by placing a few coffee beans on the foam (I didn’t have any handy), it is a very classic way to decorate it, so it enhances its appeal, even before the first sip.

When pairing cigars with cold cocktails, you don’t want a very prolonged smoking time, since this would result in the cocktail warming up, losing its balance.  For this reason I selected a Montecristo N°4, better known as Mareva (42 x 129mm), which can leisurely give us about 30 minutes of smoking time.  

Montecristo, as a side note, usually has an intensity above medium, not quite a Partagás or Bolivar, but a very well-defined character among the classic formats, with N°4 being one of the best sellers and more-recognized ones around the world.

The traditional Espresso Martini is well-balanced, featuring the coffee as the flavor protagonist.  In the case of the rum-version of the cocktail, I needed to shift some of that balance towards the rum, so that coffee would not be a flavor foundation.  The rum could not be overly-sweet or strong (alcoholic) either: the sweetness from the coffee liquor should be enough.  This coffee liquor, by the way, is an excellent product made with sugarcane alcohol and with just the right amount of sweetness.

Many of today’s leading rums are too sweet for this cocktail and an overproof rum would also be too much for the cocktail, so select your ingredients with care.

The pairing with the cigar is very straightforward, very mainstream and even a bit monotonous, given the roundness of the cocktail and the intensity of the cigar.  I am not saying that I didn’t enjoy it, but I’m intrigued by the idea of trying it again but a stronger-bodied Mareva or with a cigar from Flying Pig (also from Nicaragua), I imagine it would be marvelous.

I hope you are able to recreate this pairing and that it is of your liking.  Please remember to write me with suggestions for future pairings, I’ll do everything in my power to accommodate the requests.

Philip IlI Barake

#GRCigarPairing