Coffee cocktails are drinks that combine coffee or espresso with spirits, liqueurs, or both. The best ones — espresso martini, Irish coffee, white Russian — use coffee not just as flavoring but as a structural ingredient that changes the drink’s body, temperature, and texture. This guide covers the 10 best coffee cocktails you can make at home with an espresso machine or cold brew, organized from simplest to most involved. ...
An espresso martini is vodka, freshly pulled espresso, and coffee liqueur shaken hard over ice — the vigorous shaking creates the signature frothy top that makes it one of the most visually dramatic coffee cocktails you can make at home. It was invented in London in the late 1980s by bartender Dick Bradsell, allegedly for a model who asked for a drink that would “wake me up and f*** me up.” The drink went quiet for two decades, then exploded in global popularity after 2020 — now it’s one of the most ordered cocktails worldwide and one of the most searched coffee recipes online. ...