The Bliksem Carajillo: A Simpler, Stiffer Cousin to the Espresso Martini

If the Amarula Espresso Martini is the showstopper, the Carajillo is its no-nonsense older cousin, two ingredients, no faffing, and it's been quietly outselling espresso martinis on cocktail menus from Madrid to Mexico City for years. Here's the classic version, and our own South African spin on it.

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Where it actually comes from

Nobody quite agrees on the Carajillo's origin story. One version traces it to Spanish soldiers in colonial Cuba spiking their coffee with rum for courage, coraje in Spanish, which supposedly became carajillo over time. Another points to Catalonia and workers ordering coffee with a splash of aguardiente. Either way, it made its way to Mexico, picked up Licor 43, a Spanish vanilla-and-citrus liqueur, as its standard partner, and became a proper fixture on menus there, sometimes called the Irish coffee of Mexico City.

The classic build

• 50ml Bliksem Brew espresso, brewed via moka pot or AeroPress, cooled slightly
• 50ml Licor 43
• A large ice cube

Shake the espresso and Licor 43 hard with ice for about 15 seconds, until properly frothy, then strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. That's genuinely it, no sugar, no fuss, and at half the ingredients of an espresso martini it comes together in about a minute.

The Bliksem twist

Licor 43 is the traditional pairing, and a good one, but South Africa has its own naartjie liqueur with the same warm, citrusy character, Van der Hum. Swap it in equal parts for the Licor 43 and you get a slightly deeper, more spiced version of the same drink, less vanilla, more tangerine peel and spice, and it plays properly well with Bliksem Brew's own orange zest and redcurrant notes. It's the same drink, just with a proper Saffa accent.

A quick serving note

Serve it too cold and you mute the espresso's aroma, too warm and the ice melts and waters it down fast. The fifteen-second shake with a single large ice cube, rather than lots of small ones, is a genuine trick bartenders use, less surface area means less dilution while still getting properly cold.

Carajillo versus Espresso Martini, for the record

If you've made our Amarula Espresso Martini, you'll notice the Carajillo is a different animal, no vodka, no cream liqueur, lower ABV overall, and a rocks glass instead of a coupe. Where the espresso martini is the party piece, the Carajillo is the one you make on a Tuesday. Both are proper ways to put good coffee to work after dark.

Want to make one properly? Grab a bag of Bliksem Brew.