The Perfect Toffee Vodka Espresso Martini: A Recipe That Will Ruin Every Other Version for You

Once you make an espresso martini with salted caramel toffee vodka, there is no going back to the standard version.

The espresso martini is one of those cocktails that everyone thinks they know how to make, but few people make really well. The classic recipe calls for vodka, coffee liqueur, espresso, and sugar syrup. It is good. It works. But it is also missing something, and that something is depth. Standard vodka is neutral by design. It carries the coffee and the sweetness without adding anything of its own. Swap it for a quality toffee vodka and everything changes.

Wicstun Distillery's toffee vodka with salted caramel is made in small batches in Market Weighton, East Yorkshire, using real salted caramel rather than artificial flavourings. The salt and the caramel interact with the bitterness of the espresso in a way that regular vodka simply cannot replicate. The result is a richer, more complex drink that still has the caffeine kick and the satisfying foam on top, but with an extra layer of flavour that makes it genuinely special.

The Recipe

This makes one cocktail. Scale up proportionally for a batch.

Ingredients: 50ml Wicstun toffee vodka with salted caramel, 1 fresh shot of espresso (cooled slightly), 15ml coffee liqueur (Kahlua or Mr Black both work well), ice.

Method: Add the toffee vodka, espresso, and coffee liqueur to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake hard for 15 seconds. You want the shaker to frost over completely. This is what creates the foam. Double strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass. Garnish with three coffee beans.

The key detail: Notice there is no sugar syrup in this recipe. The salted caramel in the toffee vodka provides all the sweetness you need, and it does so with more complexity and less of the flat sugary taste that syrup can leave. If you have a very sweet tooth, you can add 10ml of sugar syrup, but try it without first.

Why It Works

The magic of this version comes down to how the salted caramel interacts with the coffee. Espresso is naturally bitter, and in a standard espresso martini, the sugar syrup exists purely to counteract that bitterness. It does the job, but it is a blunt instrument. Salted caramel does something more interesting. The sweetness balances the bitterness (like sugar syrup does), but the salt amplifies the coffee flavour rather than masking it, and the caramel adds a buttery, toasted warmth that lingers on the palate.

The result is a drink that tastes like coffee and toffee in equal measure, with neither overwhelming the other. It is indulgent without being sickly, strong without being harsh, and dangerously easy to drink for something with that much caffeine and alcohol in it.

Tips for Getting It Right

Use fresh espresso. Instant coffee will not give you the foam or the flavour. If you do not have an espresso machine, a Moka pot or an Aeropress will work. The espresso should be freshly pulled but not boiling hot, as pouring boiling liquid over ice will dilute the drink too quickly.

Shake hard. The foam on top of an espresso martini comes from the natural oils in the coffee being emulsified by vigorous shaking. A gentle stir will not do it. Commit to the shake.

Chill the glass. Put your coupe or martini glass in the freezer for 10 minutes before making the drink. A cold glass keeps the cocktail at the right temperature for longer and makes the whole experience feel more polished.

Do not skip the coffee liqueur. You can make a version with just toffee vodka and espresso, and it will be decent. But the coffee liqueur adds a syrupy depth that ties the drink together. Think of it as the bridge between the spirit and the coffee.

Where to Get the Vodka

Wicstun Distillery's toffee vodka with salted caramel is available through the online shop with free delivery on orders over £50. It is also stocked at selected independent retailers across East Yorkshire.

If you want to try it before you buy, book a distillery tour and you will taste the toffee vodka alongside the full range of gins, rums, and other spirits. The distillery is in Market Weighton, about 30 minutes from York or Hull.

Make this once for friends and you will be making it every time they come over. Consider yourself warned.