Its a truth universally acknowledged among beverage experts that if somethings happening in the culture, bartenders across America will be pouring it into that iconic V-shaped glass. All flavored martinis run the risk of being gimmicky, a novelty drink that everybodys obsessed with for exactly three minutes before it disappears into the ether. When the culture moves on, so do the drinkersexcept in the rare, very notable case of the espresso martini. As of late 2023, this drink was ranked as the third most popular cocktail in U.S. bars and restaurants, and the search term espresso martini grew by 89% among Gen Z in 2024. To explain this cocktails endurance, we need to go back. And by that, we mean actually way back, not just what Gen Z thinks way back is (2007).

As Italy entered their beverage Enlightenment, the United States plunged into the libation Dark AgesProhibition began in 1920. The nationwide ban on libations made coffee one of the few liquid stimulants you could enjoy without being worried youd get thrown in the clink, so of course it instantly spiked in popularity. But drinking was still going on behind closed doors, and so the inevitable experimentation beganfusions of coffee and bootleg liquor that would lay the groundwork for drinks like the espresso martini. When Kahla came along in 1936, it quickly became the go-to for coffee-based cocktails. And by the end of World War II, vodkas popularity was on the rise stateside on account of returning soldiers developing international palates and new post-war trade routes.

Cocktail culture was in full swing by the 1950s, and vodka was emerging as the star of the show, due in part to the circumstances above but also thanks to smart marketing from the fine ad creatives on Madison Avenue (Smirnoff, rather problematically, hawked its vodka to day drinkers as the drink you cant smell on your breath.). The era saw dozens of new vodka-based cocktails, like the Screwdriver, the Bloody Mary, the Cosmopolitan, andmost relevant herethe Black Russian, a Kahla-vodka blend supposedly created for the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. But the true predecessor to the espresso martini was the White Russian, the cocktails cream-based little sister, appearing on the scene in the early 1960s. It maintained the sophisticated appeal of any coffee/booze blend, but featured a decadent, rich sweetness that made it more accessible to stateside drinkers than its astringent, bitter predecessors, created to appeal to more European palates. All of the above helped set the stage for the creation of the espresso martini, as well as an emerging craze for boozy dessert drinks that lasted for most of the 70s. The Disco Era was all about uppers, staying up late and partyinghence the inevitable fusion of espresso and booze.

Finally, after decades of inching closer and closer to the drinks inception, the magic moment arrived: London, 1980s. One night at Freds Club, a hotspot in Soho, bartender Dick Bradsell received a request from an unnamed model (rumored, but not confirmed, to be Naomi Campbell). As the story goes, this young woman asked for something to wake me up, then f*ck me up. The innovative young bartender glanced over at the espresso machine, and the rest is history. Supposedly, Bradsells private name for his invention was The Pharmaceutical Stimulant. Though its formal name was initially the Vodka Espresso, because it was served in a coupe glass, bar patrons started calling it an espresso martini, and thats the name that stuck. Throughout the 90s, the espresso martini became the drink of choice for metropolitan nightlife across Europe, and soon after that, Americaespecially New York, Los Angeles and Miami, cities that iconically A) never sleep and B) always drink. By the time the 2000s rolled in, it was perilously close to overexposure and experienced a lull in popularity.

The espresso martini re-emerged in the 2010s with a more artisanal, gastropub bent, featuring nitrogen-charged espresso, single-origin beans and sous vide infusions. Today, thanks to its social media-friendly look, its experiencing a full-blown renaissance. Next time youre looking for a cocktail thatll put a little pep in your step, mix it up and give it a shot.