Blame it on our year-round devotion to iced coffee and beloved bars, maybe—but Boston sure loves a good espresso martini. The drink’s popularity around here mirrors a national trend, which has seen espresso martini orders increase year after year since the pandemic. “The resurgence in popularity of the espresso martini has been going strong for a few years now and shows no signs of letting up,” says Meghan Murphy, assistant general manager at Time Out Market Boston, and a former restaurant owner who’s worked in the Brookline area for more than a decade.
That’s why the espresso martini was the focus at Time Out Market’s latest cocktail competition. “We felt it was the perfect drink and time to highlight it, given the city's diverse bar and restaurant scene,” Murphy says. With a base menu of freshly brewed espresso, coffee liqueur and vodka, the espresso martini has been enhanced with everything from Irish cream to tequila. “It's such a classic, while also leaving so much room for creativity and personal spin, making it ideal for something like this,” Murphy says.
The Fenway food hall has invited over other restaurants every season so far this year, to iterate on a classic cocktail and earn the people’s choice for best in the building. The first two friendly cocktail competitions—bloody Mary and margarita—focused on Fenway-area restaurants, while this past Sunday’s espresso martini contest expanded the invite across the city. Nine restaurants from the North End to Southie participated on September 22.
The winner should come as no surprise to martini lovers in Boston:
Grill 23 & Bar took home the trophy. The 40-year-old Back Bay steakhouse is arguably as well-known for icy drinks as it is for dry-aged beef. Whether your vibe is a dry gin martini with your power lunch or a creamy ’spresso ’tini after dinner, Grill 23 exceeds expectations for simple drinks served up.
It’s all about the shake, says bartender Ryan McHugh, who—with seven years of service at the iconic Boston steakhouse—is still one of the newest hires behind the deeply experienced Grill 23 bar. “I have been consistently making espresso martinis every bar shift for the better part of 10 years, and I can tell you the secret to getting the perfect frothiness is in the vigor of your shake,” McHugh says. “I shake until my tennis elbow flares up,” he adds in a way that suggests he isn’t joking. The exact amount of time may vary person to person, but McHugh shakes an espresso martini on ice for about 45 seconds.
Ice—that’s another key to this award-winning drink. The cool temperature is something the hosts of The Hub Today noted when they blindly selected Grill 23’s espresso martini as the best out of a lineup of four drinks, live on air on Thursday, Sept. 19.
McHugh calls crushed ice the bar’s “secret weapon. I even used it for the competition to chill down the cups,” he says. At Grill 23, a crushed ice machine makes it on demand, and every martini glass gets coated in crushed ice. It makes for a memorable presentation, to be sure, but more importantly, “it provides a cold glass for your cold beverage,” McHugh says, "'cause no one wants a warm glass for a cold drink.”
Fans attending Time Out Market’s espresso martini competition sure appreciated the icy extra step.
We’ll probably leave it to the pros at Grill 23 & Bar with crushed ice at the ready to make this stellar cocktail. But if you want to try your hand—err, elbow—at shaking up the bar’s iconic espresso martini, McHugh shared the recipe:
Grill 23 & Bar espresso martini
Ingredients
1.5 oz Stoli Vanil vodka
1.5 oz espresso
1 oz of Kahlua Coffee Liqueur
1/2 oz of Baileys Irish Cream
A squeeze aquafaba
Method
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake for 45 seconds, then strain into a cold coupe glass and garnish with three coffee beans.