Annie I always enjoy using homegrown ingredients in my cocktails. Of course at this time of year, there aren’t many options to choose from … but WAIT! Mint is one of the few perennials that has started popping back up after the long winter! You can imagine my delight when this dawned on me as I was trying to think of a fun drink to make for Jay and I last Saturday evening. So I headed out to the garden and picked some chocolate mint, given to me by an old hippie-guy neighbor a few years back. How PERFECT!
I was really needing an energy boost, so I decided to use the mint in an espresso martini, along with coffee liqueur, creme de menthe, vodka, and espresso. It was DELIGHTFUL! Here’s my recipe:
Mint Espresso Martini
When it's too cold for mint to be growing in the garden, make a kumquat martini by swapping out the creme de menthe for orange liqueur and subbing a few sliced kumquats for the mint.
Ingredients
- 2 oz. vodka
- 1½ oz. coffee liqueur, such as Kahlua
- 1 oz. creme de menthe
- 2 sprigs mint
- 3 to 4 oz. brewed espresso
Instructions
- Fill a large cocktail shaker with ice. Add coffee liqueur, vodka, creme de menthe, and mint sprigs. Add espresso. If necessary, add more ice to fill shaker. Shake aggressively until the outside of the shaker is frosty. Strain into chilled martini glasses and garnish with additional mint.
