Italian Chocolate Martini
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 11.4% ABV ∙
The Italian Chocolate Martini is a shaken, coffee-forward take on the chocolate martini, built on amaro, espresso, and crème de café, served up in a coupe. A whisper-thin layer of foam cushions a bittersweet, velvety sip, roast-deep and ice-cold, lingering with a bitter-herbal finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Espresso coffee 30 mlAmaro 45 mlCrème de Café liqueur 15 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with three coffee beans floated in a petal formation in the center of the cocktail’s foamy head
Tips
- Float the coffee beans gently in the center once poured — dropping them in hard breaks the foam's surface.
- Fine-strain thoroughly to keep grit and ice shards out, since the espresso can leave fine sediment behind.
History
The Italian Chocolate Martini, also served under the name Italian Espresso Martini, is a modern riff created around 2022 by bartender Nicholas Boden at Tavernonna Italian Kitchen in the Hotel Phillips, Kansas City, Missouri. His recipe swaps the base spirit of the Espresso Martini for Amaro Averna, pairing the bittersweet, herbal liqueur with espresso and coffee liqueur; despite the name, the drink contains no actual chocolate, its cocoa-toned character coming instead from the amaro and coffee liqueur.
It is a direct descendant of the Espresso Martini, credited to bartender Dick Bradsell in London in the 1980s as a mix of vodka, coffee liqueur, and fresh espresso. Boden's version keeps that basic coffee-cocktail structure but removes the vodka entirely in favor of amaro, turning a bright, caffeinated modern classic into a more bitter, dessert-like after-dinner drink.
FAQ
What is in an Italian Chocolate Martini?
Fresh hot espresso, an amaro such as Averna, and crème de café liqueur, shaken with ice and fine-strained into a chilled coupe. It is garnished with three coffee beans floated on the foam and comes in at about 11.4% ABV, with no cream or chocolate liqueur in the build despite the name.
What are the ingredients of a chocolate martini?
A classic chocolate martini is usually vodka, chocolate liqueur, and cream or crème de cacao, shaken and served up. This Italian version replaces that trio with espresso, amaro, and crème de café, keeping the shaken, up-served format but trading the chocolate and cream for coffee and bitter herbal depth.
What's the best chocolate liqueur for a chocolate martini?
This build does not use a chocolate liqueur at all; it relies on crème de café for sweetness and an amaro, such as Averna, for bitter depth, with fresh espresso carrying the coffee character instead.
What is an Italian martini?
There is no single fixed recipe called an Italian martini; the name is generally used for martini-style drinks built around Italian ingredients like amaro, amaretto, or vermouth. This Italian Chocolate Martini fits that pattern, using amaro and espresso in place of the vodka and chocolate liqueur of a standard chocolate martini.
