After a few days spent with relatives, there’s a good chance your go-to espresso martini recipe might not do the trick. So, we tweaked and combined a few of our favorite recipes to create this spirited cure for any-time-of-year stresses: the espresso whiskey martini, a dessert and cocktail wrapped into one delicious drink. Sweet, hazelnut-y Frangelico liquor adds a delectable element to this coffee-forward cocktail that we can’t get enough of.

What is Frangelico?

This Espresso Whiskey Martini mixes up the classic recipe a little bit with one new addition: Frangelico. It’s a close cousin of amaretto, but not exactly the same. Like amaretto, it’s a nut-flavored liqueur, but Frangelico is more hazelnut-forward than almond-forward. Amaretto is much more subtle, whereas Frangelico is very sweet. One whiff of the bottle is like smelling candied Tonda Gentile hazelnuts. But that makes it perfect for a sweet and nutty cocktail balanced by other bitter ingredients, like espresso and whiskey. Frangelico also makes a fun buy if only for the bottle shape alone; it gets its name from a monk from the Peidmont region of Italy, and its bottle is shaped like a monk with a tiny rope belt. Strange and adorable! 

Recipe by Maggie Weaver
Photography by Dave Bryce 

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