Non-Alcoholic
espresso martini

Vodka is intended as a neutral spirit. If you remove the alcohol, there is little flavor left to replace, and a 0.0 alternative mainly dilutes this cocktail. That’s why this recipe contains no base spirit, but more coffee instead. If you do want to add something, choose an alcohol-free coffee liqueur: use 3 cl of it and reduce the syrup to 1 cl, as these liqueurs are usually sweetened. A 0.0 gin can also work, but it adds juniper and citrus; taste it first to see whether you like that with coffee. Adding extra water or ice to fill the glass doesn’t work: it makes the drink thin and the foam weak.

The foam comes not from the alcohol but from the fresh espresso: the oils and fine coffee particles trap air when you shake vigorously. What you do miss without vodka and liqueur is body, the weight in the mouth. You can bring that back in two ways. Rich syrup made with two parts sugar to one part water is thicker than ordinary sugar syrup and gives more fullness. Aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas, contains proteins and starches that hold air, just like egg white in a sour. Combined with vigorous shaking and double straining, it produces a tight foam cap.

According to the Voedingscentrum, a 6 cl double espresso contains about 80 milligrams of caffeine, which is therefore the amount in this glass. The Voedingscentrum advises adults to consume no more than 200 milligrams at a time and 400 milligrams per day; for pregnant women, the limit is 200 milligrams per day. For most people, one glass is therefore not a problem. Do pay attention to the timing: in people who are sensitive to caffeine, as little as 100 milligrams can affect sleep, especially a few hours before bedtime. Two glasses after dinner are well above that.

If you want to drink it late in the evening, pull a double espresso using decaffeinated beans. It is not completely caffeine-free, but it makes a big difference: the Voedingscentrum estimates about 3 milligrams for a 12.5 cl cup of decaffeinated coffee, compared with 80 milligrams in a regular double espresso. The rest of the recipe stays the same. Grind the beans just before brewing, because even with decaffeinated coffee, the crema comes from fresh coffee and disappears with old beans. This gives you the same layer of foam and the same roasted flavor.

Coffee liqueur such as Kahlúa gives the espresso martini sweetness, vanilla, and a rounded coffee flavor. You can recreate that combination without alcohol as coffee syrup. Dissolve 100 grams of cane sugar in 10 cl of hot, strong coffee and stir in a sachet of vanilla sugar. Let it cool, pour it into a clean bottle, and store it in the refrigerator; use it within a week. Use 2 cl instead of the cane sugar syrup. Do not use vanilla extract: it is usually made with alcohol. A split vanilla pod left in the syrup overnight does work.

For six glasses, pull six double espressos, which takes time. Prepare them one after another just before serving and collect them in a cold pitcher, but do not let them stand for too long: coffee that is half an hour old produces hardly any foam, and the aquafaba can only partly make up for that. Measure out the syrup and aquafaba in advance and shake two glasses at a time, using fresh ice for each round. Chill the coupes in the freezer so the foam cap stays firm longer.