Frozen Espresso Martinis

These Frozen Espresso Martinis are a cocktail granita inspired by my creamy espresso martini with Baileys Irish cream. I was playing with frozen cocktails for my 52 weeks of cocktails challenge and became enamored with making granita cocktails for weeks in a row. These espresso martini granitas are a refreshing frozen cocktail that you’ll find super easy to make when it’s unbelievably hot outside.

Read on for all the tips and tricks for how to making a frozen espresso martini like a granita. Or hit the Jump to Recipe button, grab your spoon, and let’s make frozen espresso martinis without a blender!

Ingredients

The classic espresso martini is made with vodka, espresso, and coffee liqueur. Just like the creamy cocktail that inspired it, this espresso martini granita adds Baileys Irish cream for a creamier frozen espresso martini.

Please don’t sub in heavy cream if you don’t have Baileys. In recipe testing, the version of this frozen cocktail I made with whipping cream had a coarse, icy texture like cheap ice cream.

Variations and substitutions

• Use a flavored vodka like vanilla.
• Sub Frangelico for the coffee liqueur.

Recipe tips and tricks

Granita is a semi-frozen, Italian dessert originating from Italy that is traditionally made with coffee, lemon, or fruit juice. It’s not smooth like gelato or ice cream but has a light, crystalline texture.

Making a frozen cocktail in the granita style instead of blending it with ice has few key advantages:

1. No blender: You pour liquid ingredients into a pan in the freezer.
2. Flavor: When you blend a cocktail with ice, all that ice over dilutes the cocktail. Granita, on the other hand, preserves the full intensity of the cocktail because the mixture is frozen without additional ice.
3. Texture: The ideal granita cocktail has a delicate, crystalline consistency that feels more refined and tastes different as you spoon it onto your tongue.

To make the frozen espresso martinis, transfer the prepared cocktail mixture into a shallow metal baking dish. This lets the granita mixture freeze evenly and is easy to scrape.

Place the dish in the freezer for about 30 to 45 minutes until the edges start to freeze. Use a fork or silicone spatula to scrape the ice from around the edges and mix it into the center.

Return the dish to the freezer and continue to scrape the mixture every 30 minutes to an hour, breaking up the ice into smaller crystals each time. The whole process will take about 3 to 4 hours, depending on the mixture and freezer.

Serve your frozen espresso martini granitas in chilled martini glasses or small bowls. The chilling will help slow the frozen cocktail from melting.

Other cocktail granita ideas

You can turn many other cocktails into granitas. Because alcohol has a lower freezing point than water, the key is an alcohol ratio of about 2:1 mixer to spirit for the frozen cocktail to freeze, but not too quickly, and get that crystal structure. Of course, every freezer and every cocktail is different, so you may need play around a bit.

This Moscow Mule granita had the perfect texture with 2 ounces of vodka, 3 ounces of ginger beer, 1 ounce of simple syrup, and a half ounce of fresh squeezed lime juice. I have found, making granita cocktails all summer, that I prefer the frozen cocktail with a little extra sweetness.

Tips for specific cocktails:

• Citrus-Based Sours: Drinks like margaritas or mojitos work well as granitas. Consider adding a bit of lime or lemon zest.
• Highball Cocktails: Highball cocktails like gin and tonics, champagne cocktails, or spritzes that rely on carbonation will lose their fizz, but otherwise work well.

Recipe FAQs

Related cocktail recipes

Check out other refreshing cocktail recipes from the Ugly Duckling Bakery archives, like: