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Whitebox moves into Espresso Martinis
After two years of research and development, ready-to-drink (RTD) brand Whitebox has launched a canned Espresso Martini cocktail.
The Whitebox canned cocktail line-up already includes a Pocket Negroni, Tiny Tee’s Dirty Martini, Classic Cosmo and a Prêt À Boire Boulevardier.
The new variant is named Collina & Co Espresso Martini, after Whitebox co-founder Pietro Collina (ex beverage director at NoMad, London, and current beverage director at Viajante87), who led the creation of the product.
Speaking to The Spirits Business on its development, Collina said an Espresso Martini has been in making since the brand’s inception in 2021.
“When we started Whitebox, we looked at some of the most iconic, popular cocktails out there, and one of them was the Espresso Martini,” he said.
“And the funny thing about the Espresso Martini is that we looked around the market and saw that no one was really doing them correctly, but again, there are also many difficulties when creating one in a can. First, you need to do a lot of other types of drinks to understand the science of putting liquid into a can before releasing an Espresso Martini. For us, this is like a rite of passage.”
The cocktail holds an ABV of 20%, which is a higher proof than many other Espresso Martini RTDs on the market. Collina said Whitebox wanted to be true to the idea of what an Espresso Martini originally was: “It packs a punch when it comes to alcohol and has a lot of flavour. Our agenda is creating cocktails that are the same proof as you would find in the bar, and also to get the highest level possible.”
On the importance of ensuring a high strength, he explained: “If you drink two Espresso Martinis, you should be feeling the caffeine and the alcohol at that point. If you’re drinking three to four Espresso Martinis and you’re still completely normal, there’s something wrong with that. You’re just basically drinking sugar and coffee, and at that point you’re just getting a caffeine high.”
Achieving the ‘perfect’ crema
Unlike other products in the Whitebox line – which is known for its signature 100ml format for cans – the Collina Espresso Martini arrives in a 160ml can, but with 140ml of liquid, leaving 20ml of space. This feature, Collina said, gives the cocktail the “perfect crema”.
“You take it and it basically aerates. So you have the type of head where you just pour and it leaves a beautiful foam. If you shake that can and it’s cold for 10-12 seconds, and you pour it out, that crema then stays for 15-20 minutes.”
“We kind of tore up our branding guideline for this one, because with the main pillar of the company, it’s about creating beverages that taste like they’re from bars.”
The perception for many people of a ‘great’ Espresso Martini is said to be about texture, and to achieve this, Collina said the team went down many “rabbit holes”.
“A lot of people think the idea of pumping nitrogen into a can is what you want. Then people think about widgets that you get from Guinness cans, which when looking for, is actually a copyright of Guinness, so you can’t find them anywhere.
“We tried with NO2, but then with the amount of alcohol that we wanted in the cocktail, it just creates very large bubbles that dissipate. We tried everything from fresh espresso to cold brew, to concentrate to freeze dry coffee, spray dry coffee… everything. And then finally, we found the richness that we wanted with the coffee flavour.
“To be honest, everyone wants a really great coffee taste in an Espresso Martini, but with coffee comes bitterness. So to counteract the bitterness, you need to add more sugar. But then if you add too much sugar, it just just tips it over. It has a really fine tipping point.”
The cocktail itself is presented in a a Kimbo-style can, inspired by the old Italian coffee cans of the 1970s. It is available now in Selfridges for £5.80 (US$7.50) and will roll out nationwide in the UK on the brand’s website and from select independent retailers from mid-November.
Independent collaborations
In the immediate future, the brand will continue working on limited releases such as Apple Martini variation with Avallen Calvados. Previously, the brand has worked with bar owner Ryan Chetiyawardana, of London’s Lyaness and Seed Library, on a set of limited canned serves.
“We’re doing a lot of really cool, small, independent collaborations with different brands,” Collina added.
“We’re looking at it as not only featuring cool classic cocktails, but also to highlight good products within them. And to work with some of our friends as well.
“I think the great part about Whitebox is that from a consumer point of view, it’s a fun brand, It’s got a really cheeky kind of branding that pops a lot of colour. But if you dive into it, and if you look at the background of the people behind it and the people that we work with, there’s a lot of intent in everything, and there’s a lot of science in terms of how all those drinks are composed and made. We try to keep it nonchalant, but at the same time, there’s a lot of expertise behind all the liquid.”
Recently, Whitebox made a play in air travel by partnering with Aer Lingus.
International expansion is on the radar, too. The brand sought to raise £200,000 (US$258,472) through a crowdfunding campaign over the summer, to advance its overall aim of becoming ‘the leader in the classic ready-to-serve cocktail category’.
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