These Top Coffee Liqueurs Will Make Your Espresso Martini Buzz (2024)

Published 11/8/23

“[Coffee] liqueur should taste like coffee without being synthetic or over-extracted, and should add a little body and roundness to the cocktail.” —Timothy Parker, beverage director of Electric Hospitality, Atlanta

• Best Overall: St. George’s NOLA Coffee Liqueur

  

  This New Orleans-inspired bottle is made by one of the bar world’s more beloved craft brands, St. George Spirits. It is also a personal favorite of Lindsay Dukes, the general manager of Bar Marilou, based in the Big Easy, who admits that her choice may be slightly influenced by her current ZIP code. “The notes of chicory coffee in this liqueur bring out the right amount of bitterness you usually get from a good cup of coffee while retaining these lovely dark roast notes,” she says.

  The base of the bottle is made from roasted French chicory, Madagascar vanilla, and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee beans roasted at a range of levels to amplify every flavor profile of the bean.

  “It has a fantastic earthy, roasty nuttiness to it, a bittersweet chocolate note, and a rich sweetness from the cane sugar,” says Tin Le, beverage director of Louisville’s Ensō. “And there’s an extra depth of flavor from the chicory.”

  Le recommends serving the liqueur shaken with rum or cognac, Vietnamese drip coffee, condensed milk, and a whole egg.

• Runner-Up: Borghetti di Vero Caffe Espresso Liqueur

  

  “When I’m looking for a coffee liqueur, I want something that brings intense coffee flavor in a small quantity,” says Christian Favier, bar manager at The Ordinary in Charleston, South Carolina. He’s tried many of the bottles on the market, but Fratelli Branca Borghetti remains his favorite. “Its punchy intensity gives me a ton of great coffee flavor when I use it liberally, and a beautiful subtle bitterness when I use it sparingly.”

  Made by the same people behind Fernet-Branca and based on a recipe developed in the 1860s by bartender Ugo Borghetti, the process starts by making coffee from Arabica and Robusta beans sourced from three different regions in Italy. The coffees are blended, steeped in a neutral grain alcohol, and sweetened with sugar.

  Juliana Fisher, bar manager at Bar167 also in Charleston, appreciates that the liqueur is not overwhelmingly sweet. “Since it’s a brand known for their espresso, I’m not surprised that they’re 100% on the money if you want to add strong coffee notes to a cocktail,” she says.

  “Borghetti actually tastes like espresso,” says Parker. “It’s sweet enough to hold its own in pretty much every application, and even gives a nice foam cap when shaken in cocktails.”

• Best Classic Bottle: Kahlúa

  

  While this yellow-labeled bottle may be the most recognizable coffee liqueur on the market, Fisher believes its popularity is well deserved.

  “[Kahlúa] has a rich, sweet, and bold coffee flavor with hints of vanilla and caramel,” says Fisher. Those sweeter notes come from the unique rum base (most coffee liqueurs call for a neutral grain spirit) blended with Arabica coffee beans then rested for four weeks to allow the flavors to marry.

  “It’s a go-to whether you’re after a classic like the White Russian or you’re just looking to spike your morning coffee,” Fisher says. Alternatively, she finds it plays well with rum in tropical cocktails.

  Alongside classic cocktails, Kahlúa pairs well with desserts and dessert-like drinks—try a Mudslide or a Snickertini.

• Best High-End Pour: Forthave Brown Coffee Liqueur

  

  Co-founder of Speed Rack and Master Class host Lynnette Marrero is keen on Brooklyn-based Forthave Spirits’ Brown Coffee Liqueur.

  “It is made from single-variety Nicaraguan coffee [pacamará ambar] roasted at Brooklyn's Cafe Integral,” says Marrero. “The beans are roasted then split up: 50% is turned into cold brew and 50% macerated with a neutral spirit.” The finished product is a combination of cold brew extraction and a bean maceration.

  Flavors are intense and extracted—you could add it to an Espresso Martini (it gives intense, dark chocolate and almond notes) or sip it as an after-dinner coffee-amaro combo. “It has a strong earthy coffee flavor that finishes with cocoa and vanilla,” says Marrero.

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• Best High-Proof: Holy City Dead Eye Espresso Vodka

  

  This release is a nod to the infamous pirate Anne Bonny, whose father built their family fortune as a coffee merchant in Charleston, South Carolina. “In my opinion, this is the best coffee liqueur,” says Hailey Knight, beverage director of Félix Cocktails et Cuisine in Charleston. “It’s made locally and with all real espresso.”

  The brand partners with both female coffee bean growers and roasters to source raw materials. The beans are ground and turned into a cold brew, then infused into vodka to produce a chocolate-hued espresso vodka.

  Similar to Van Gogh’s bottling below, Holy City Dead Eye is not a coffee liqueur, but a vodka with a coffee lean. As such, it has a higher proof (33%) than other bottlings we prefer, so expect a strong backbone balanced with notes of rich chocolate, caramel, and cherry flavors.

• Best Coffee Amaro: J. Rieger Caffé Amaro

  

  Kansas City may not be the first city that comes to mind for amaro production, but this all-American distillery has managed to produce an interesting take on amaro out of the city’s West Bottoms neighborhood. It’s made in collaboration with Kansas City-based coffee roasters, Thou Mayest. Made in an amaro style, J. Rieger combines single-origin coffee with orange, spearmint, cardamom, vanilla, gentian, and other botanicals to add an herbal-sweet finish.

  “Coffee, botanicals, and a short stint in whiskey barrels give this liqueur a unique flavor profile in the coffee-based spirit world,” says Stephen Burgess, bar director of Justine in New Orleans. “It’s perfect as a base spirit for a sour or an accompaniment to a whiskey and coffee cocktail. It also fits in well as a sipper at the end of the meal, as a true amaro would.”

• Best with Vodka: Mr Black

  

  Many coffee liqueurs are rooted in history—legendary recipes that have been poured after dinner for two centuries. Mr Black’s coffee liqueur is just a decade old. The Australian brand was birthed by coffee snob Tom Baker and master distiller Philip Moore, two self-proclaimed nerds who wanted to doctor the perfect liqueur for an Espresso Martini.

  Their resulting invention is made with a base of Australian grain spirit and Arabica coffee beans sourced from Papua New Guinea, Colombia, and Kenya. The caffeine levels remain high in the final blend: every one-ounce pour contains up to 40% of the caffeine found in one shot of espresso. “Mr Black has the rich flavor you would expect from cold brew without being cloying or astringent,” says Parker.

  “I really enjoy this liqueur made with Australian vodka and Arabica coffee because it focuses on embodying true coffee flavor,” says Burgess. “It tastes like cold brew and is a more versatile product because it’s not trying to do too much. It’s perfect in an Espresso Martini [and] especially alongside more dry, citrus-forward spirits or a fat-washed vodka.”

• Best with Rum: Grind Espresso Shot

  

  Grind is a collaboration between the folks at Sazerac and “their favorite bartenders and baristas,” as the brand describes. The end product is a spiked espresso shot made from medium roasted Arabica beans and a blend of Caribbean rum for strength and sweetness.

  North Carolina’s Blue Jay Bistro food and beverage director, Ziv Scherman, notes that while this bottle takes a little more legwork to find, it’s worth the effort. “Grind offers an authentic and medium to robust coffee flavor that really adds depth to an Espresso Martini or other coffee cocktail.”

  Try pairing this liqueur with rum in a more tropical take on an Espresso Martini.

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• Best Coffee Vodka: Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka

  

  “This is not necessarily a coffee liqueur, but rather a coffee-infused or flavored vodka,” says Scherman.

  Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka is a small-batch spirit, made from neutral grain alcohol infused with espresso not once, but twice. Most coffee liqueurs are lower proof, but Van Gogh’s espresso vodka has a kick, coming in at 35% ABV.

  “It adds the flavor and not a lot of the normal sweetness you get from most of the liqueurs,” says Scherman.

  When using this for an Espresso Martini, Scherman splits the base with regular vodka, adds a splash of Grind Espresso Shot, and a splash of chocolate liqueur and cream.
  

• Best for After-Dinner Drinks: Varnelli Caffé Moka

  

  Distilleria Varnelli has been making spirits in the Marche region of Italy since 1868, zeroing in on amari and liqueurs that spotlight hyper-specific ingredients like anise, mandarin, roasted hazelnuts, and yes, coffee.

  James Nowicki, bar manager of Common Thread in Savannah, Georgia, recommends a splash of the distillery’s coffee liqueur as an after-dinner caffeine hit. “Since it’s a bit sweeter and rounder than most coffee liqueurs, Varnelli’s Caffé Moka is exceptional on its own,” he says.

  The liqueur is made with real Italian espresso infused into grain alcohol and honey and aged for six months. “It’s almost like a bottled Espresso Martini. It really doesn’t need anything else,” says Nowicki.