A neon martini glass sign flashes above a NYC bar, as it has since 1991 when the classic cocktail culture of mid-century Mad Men era was already passé.
“Martinis are anchored in the notion of elegance,” says the co-owner of this popular neighborhood joint in New York City's Upper West Side neighborhood.
Most people who drink at this establishment—a platypus of a venue that somehow successfully manages to be a combination retro kitsch neighborhood tavern, cocktail bar, burger joint, sushi restaurant, and raw bar—still want something served in that iconic, conical glass. When the bar opened, however, most drinks that came in one of such vessels bore no resemblance to an actual martini.
Decades later, martinis here and elsewhere are mostly back to the traditional, clear variety, made with gin or vodka. These days one is more likely to encounter them served in a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass rather than the traditional style of martini glass. And the norm across the hospitality spectrum, from casual bars to high-end lounges and fine dining, is the use of fresh juices and high-quality spirits instead of synthesized, sugary substitutes or flavored booze.
But lately, it seems the 1980s and 1990s are calling, and we’re not letting it go straight to voicemail.
Espresso Martinis Are Everywhere
Over the past few years, the espresso martini has become one of the most-ordered drinks across the planet. Though it’s taken a minute to seep into the mainstream, the drink dates back to post-punk 1983 London, when British bartender Dick Bradsell invented it on the fly at SoHo Brasserie. As the now legendary story goes, Bradsell had just completed a coffee staff training behind the bar when an American model approached him and said, “Give me a drink that will wake me up, then (mess) me up.” What he presented was first christened the “Vodka Espresso,” then, for a brief time, the “Pharmaceutical Stimulant.”
Bradsell eventually went with the much sexier-sounding “Espresso Martini,” with a template of unflavored vodka, coffee liqueur, strong espresso, and if the palate demanded, additional sweetener. (As for the model, he claims he didn’t recognize her and never knew who she was, but she would undoubtedly have been at least 18, Britain’s legal drinking age. According to sources close to Bradsell, he was a stickler for that rule.)
More on why Espresso Martinis are so popular now in a bit. But let’s first discuss why a drink that is brown and frothy was called a “martini” in the first place.
The Glass Makes The ’Tini
“Those conical glasses were really cheap and really huge. Everyone had them. And you had to fill them up [with the cheapest ingredients possible]. People thought they looked chic holding them,” says bar consultant Mimi Burnham, who has worked in bars and nightclubs throughout New York City and Long Island since the 1980s. It was an age when the formula for naming a drink was Flavor + Tini, resulting in such creations as the Chocolate Butterscotch Martini and Raspberry Martini. These drinks were easy to say, and more importantly, easy to order.
Instead of natural ingredients, the flavor component was typically derived from a liqueur because it was shelf-stable, involved zero prep aside from opening the bottle, and was available in a wide spectrum of fruit and nut varieties thanks to the rise of flavored vodkas, fruit liqueurs, and flavored brandies.
Back then, it was exciting when they came out with a new flavor. ‘Oh! There’s watermelon. Now I can make a watermelon drink.’ You never would have thought in your wildest dreams to actually go out and buy a watermelon,” shares one mixoligist about his time tending bar in the 90's. He cites one place in Venice Beach that made Watermelon Margaritas with fake watermelon liqueur but real watermelon garnish. “Fresh, but not really.”
However, attempting to match the garnish to the drink was unusual.
“Every cocktail had a lime wedge, whether or not that’s what went with the flavor profile of what was in the drink,” recalls Burnham. She says she was encouraged to come up with new drinks from whatever was on the bar. “It’s just sitting there!” was the main inspiration, and “Chambord [raspberry liqueur] became like a secret ingredient,” she says.
From Everything ’Tini to Craft Cocktails
Long before the 1980s classic, the Cosmopolitan, was co-opted by character Carrie Bradshaw and her stilettoed cadre of Sex and the City pals, it was a classic nightclub lounge drink that was typically prepared with cranberry juice and lime cordial, neither of which contain much, if any, real juice. The Cosmo’s most popular cousins were the Sea Breeze (vodka, cranberry, grapefruit juice) and Bay Breeze (vodka, cranberry, pineapple).
Also not a ’Tini is the Surfer on Acid. This modern classic dive bar shot was invented circa 1992 in Los Angeles at a time when American palates didn't largely favor herbal and bitter flavors in cocktails. A now famous German herbal liqueur was newly available to the U.S. market and a mixologist was given the task to do something with it.
Already a fan of Piña Coladas, he says it made sense that the flavor of coconut rum and pineapple would be a good match. Soon, his beachy creation—herbal liqueur, coconut rum, pineapple—became popular with other bartenders. The Surfer on Acid rode the shot wave beyond Los Angeles thanks tothe liqueur's original importer, ), who added the recipe to the brand’s promotional materials.
Those drinks from the 1980s and 1990s—the Cosmo, Fuzzy Navels, Lemon Drops, various iterations of the Martini, Sex on the Beach, even Tequila Sunrises—never entirely went away outside of the craft cocktail bubble.
At the very start of the 2000s, flavored Martini dens were still all the rage in New York City. This author even admits to having a ritual with a gal pal of seeing John Cusack movies on the big screen, then heading straight to Temple Bar for what was then its popular house Chocolate Martini served with decadent chocolate curls as garnish.
As we all know, though, just a couple of years later in the mid-2000s, cocktail culture reverted to a stately, serious existence. With it came a strict set of rules, among them: vodka is out, fresh ingredients are in, and no more Woo Woos for you-yous.
However, those drinks from the 1980s and 1990s—the Cosmo, Fuzzy Navels, Lemon Drops, various iterations of the Martini, Sex on the Beach, even Tequila Sunrises—never entirely went away outside of the craft cocktail bubble. Before his passing in 2019, cocktail legend Gary “Gaz” Regan often reminded us that they’re “fun” drinks, even delicious ones if mixed purposefully with good ingredients.
And aren’t we supposed to like fun?
The Return of “Fun” Drinks
The Espresso Martini has made it acceptable again to order fun cocktails.
It’s popular now, not only because the drink is fun (and we need as much of that as we can get these days), but because Dick Bradsell’s original recipe is a dang good drink and always was. Now that it’s survived the energy drink and vodka generation, bars and restaurants make a point of having high-quality, prepped espresso at the ready—instead of the stale drip coffee that likely ruined the cocktail for many people in the ’80s and ’90s—for the countless Espresso Martini orders that will be demanded of a service whenever a guest wants a boozy buzz.
The drink can be mixed with one of any number of excellent coffee liqueur options that have surfaced in the past decade or so, and bartenders might tweak the recipe to add further nuance by swapping out base spirits and/or adding additional tweaks, such as aquavit or a rich, fruity amaro. Even some stalwarts of the early 2000s cocktail scene have made peace with using the traditional vodka.
Other non-martini Martinis are going mainstream again too, albeit versions made with fresh ingredients.
Recently, U.K. fine dining steakhouse chain Hawksmoor added a split-base Lychee Martini with fresh lemon juice and cucumber-infused agave syrup to its menu. A cafe in New York City makes a cheeky nod to both its ’Tini bar past and the unstoppable Dirty Vodka Martini craze by serving a Dirty Appletini made with vodka, apple brandy, vermouth, and a housemade pickled apple garnish sourced from the nearby greenmarket.
There’s even a hidden bar dedicated to late 1980s and ’90s pop culture in Midtown Manhattan that echoes a particular ironic theme of the era. Meanwhile, Surfer on Acid has reached the cocktail coast anew, but with fresher options for the coconut and pineapple components and sometimes various amari.
All of that ‘90s pop culture is speaking to a younger generation of drinkers now, so why wouldn’t the drinks come back?Sometimes they come back a little differently, sometimes they come back the same, but better.
