The obvious thing to do with Trader Joe’s Espresso Martini ($9.99) is chill it and pour it into a glass. It’s a mix of “vodka, espresso, and vanilla” (and based on the taste, some simple syrup or other sweetener). It’s 40 proof, 20% alcohol by volume, and says it’s about 4 drinks. (BTW – great label, right?!)
Straight out of the (chilled) bottle it was a fairly intense sipper. As a cocktail, it’d be a one and done for me. Good espresso flavor, not bitter. It’s sweet, but not overboard (to me, anyway). Another option is to put it in a shaker with ice and aerate it a little bit and make it extra extra cold. I gave it a pretty thorough shake, but it didn’t make a nice crema layer as you might hope. You can see it in the Reel below. But no matter.
Because the move is to make a boozy affogato.
Get yourself some vanilla ice cream, put a scoop in a small coupe glass, and pour over some shaken espresso martini. Chef’s kiss. You could also do shot glass size servings to stretch it out as a boozy dessert.
For $10, Trader Joe’s Espresso Martini is a great value. Would I buy it again? Yeah, definitely. It’s a limited time item, so if you’re interested in trying it, pick it up the next time you’re in a TJ’s with that carries hard alcohol in addition to beer and wine.
