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December 17, 2019
Cream Cocktails: The Coffee Martinez
Martini drinkers lean in, we’ve got a different type of birth story for you this holiday season. Before all the gold got dug up and Californian’s started making wine instead, a miner en route to the East Bay city of Martinez made a pit stop at San Francisco’s Occidental Hotel. Perhaps he was looking to celebrate his newfound fortune, or maybe he was trying to soften the woes of an unlucky 49er. Either way, legend has it that he asked the bartender to serve his Vermouth with Old Tom Gin (or, a Manhattan with Gin instead of Whiskey). What would eventually become the town’s namesake cocktail, the Martinez was officially transcribed in 1884’s O.H. Byron’s Modern Bartender’s Guide. Part Manhattan and part Martini, the Martinez is a 50-50 ratio of Gin and Sweet Vermouth with a few dashes of orange bitters and often Maraschino Liqueur. Malty, simple and a little bit sweet, the vintage Martinez is a classic.
For our riff on the Martini’s sweeter forerunner, we added a coffee bean infusion, adding a darker, more masculine quality to deepen the cocktail for winter.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Ransom Old Tom Gin
- 1.5 oz Mata Tinto Vermouth infused with coffee beans (see below for details)
- .25 oz Bordiga Maraschino Liqueur
- 2 dashes bitters
Directions: Combine all ingredients into your favorite mixer. Add ice, stir 40 revolutions with a bar spoon. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with orange rind.
Infusion:
Pour 150ml of Mata Tinto Vermouth into a small mason jar. Measure out 30ml of dark roast coffee for a 1 to 5 part coffee to liquid ratio (we used Collectivo Coffee). Let sit for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Yields approximately 3 servings
