Cafecito con Vodka
We’ll take our espresso martini with a dose of Caribbean flavor and Cuban coffee culture.
There's more to Cuban bartending traditions than daiquiris, mojitos, and Cuba Libres. Cuban-inspired Palomar in Portland serves plenty of riffs on those classics (in addition to empanadas, rice and beans, and jackfruit ropa vieja), but rum doesn't dominate the back bar.
“In the 1920s, when Prohibition ended, there were all kinds of gin cocktails in Cuban bartending manuals, not just rum drinks. They included the same categories that you would see in Jerry Thomas—fizzes, juleps, sours, daiquiris, Manhattans, Mary Pickfords,” says Owner and Bartender Ricky Gomez, a fi rst-generation Cuban-American, who was born, raised, and bar-trained in New Orleans.
While it's unlikely that bartenders were making espresso martinis during Cuba's cocktail heyday, the base flavor profile isn't a far stretch from sweet, intense Cuban cafecito—just shaken with vodka and ice. When conceptualizing an espresso martini to represent Palomar, Bar Manager Brandon Josie wanted to bring in clear Caribbean flavors, a nod to Portland, and a vodka that would contribute to the drink's character, rather than slink into the background.
His “Espresso Maduro” is turbo boosted with plantain-infused overproof rum, and Josie opted for Smalltime Roasters cold brew over Pilon or Bustelo. For the vodka: “Grey Goose has a pear quality that works well opposite the plantains, and the fruit element balances the rich, nutty notes of the coffee,” says Josie.
The Espresso Maduro is old school, familiar, and focused—a Cuban-American cocktail handshake that let's drinkers know they'll be taken care of. “Our goal is really just to be a great neighborhood bar, inspired by my heritage,” says Gomez.
