Coffee and alcohol have shared a glass for a long time. The Italians have been drinking caffè corretto (espresso "corrected" with grappa) since at least the 1800s. The British add brandy to coffee. The Spanish have Carajillo. But the modern cocktail-bar treatment of coffee, coffee as a structural cocktail ingredient, not just a finishing dose, is a 20th-century invention. Here is how we got here.
The pre-cocktail era (1700s-1860s)
Coffee arrived in Europe in the 1600s and quickly mixed with everything alcoholic. By the early 1800s, coffee + brandy combinations were standard across continental Europe, variously called "café cognac" (France), "caffè corretto" (Italy), "carajillo" (Spain), depending on the local spirit. These were not cocktails in any structured sense; they were ways to add warmth to coffee.
Irish Coffee (1942)
The first true coffee cocktail in the modern sense. Created in 1942 at Foynes Airbase, Ireland by chef Joe Sheridan for cold transatlantic flight passengers: Irish whiskey, hot coffee, brown sugar, lightly-whipped cream floated on top.
The drink took 10 years to spread to the US (popularised by Stanton Delaplane at the Buena Vista in San Francisco, 1952). By the 1960s it was a global after-dinner classic.
Importance: established the format of coffee + spirit + sweetener + cream as a defined cocktail category.
Coffee liqueurs (1936 onwards)
Kahlúa launched in Mexico in 1936. Tia Maria in Jamaica in the 1940s. These coffee-flavoured liqueurs made coffee-cocktail building easier, bartenders could use the liqueur as the "coffee" element without dealing with hot coffee logistics.
This enabled a wave of mid-century coffee cocktails: Black Russian (1949), White Russian (1965), Mind Eraser (1980s).
The Espresso Martini (1983)
The drink that defined modern coffee cocktails. Created by Dick Bradsell at Fred's Club in London, 1983, supposedly when a supermodel asked for something that would "wake me up and then f*** me up". Bradsell built: vodka, coffee liqueur, fresh espresso, sugar.
The Espresso Martini sat dormant through the 1990s, exploded in popularity in the 2010s, became the world's most-ordered cocktail in many cities by 2020.
Importance: introduced fresh espresso (rather than coffee liqueur as a stand-in) as a cocktail ingredient. The drink's iconic silky foam, achieved by hard shaking, became its visual signature.
The third-wave era (2010s)
As specialty coffee culture matured, cocktail bars started treating coffee with the same care as spirits: single-origin beans, brewing method choices, fresh extraction. Cold brew as a cocktail ingredient became standard. Modern coffee liqueurs (Mr. Black, St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur) replaced Kahlúa in serious bars.
New coffee cocktails: Carajillo Resort variations, Cold Brew Old Fashioneds, coffee Negronis, coffee-tequila combinations.
The Malaysian coffee-cocktail moment (2020s)
The local development worth tracking. Malaysian bartenders have started building coffee cocktails on kopi-O (sock-brewed Malaysian robusta with condensed milk) and the Ipoh white coffee tradition, instead of imported Italian-style espresso. Our Kopi Sour (whisky + kopi-O + gula melaka + lemon) is part of this wave.
The reason: Malaysian coffee has a flavour profile that pairs differently with cocktail ingredients than Italian espresso. The robusta character carries through cream and dairy more aggressively; the gula melaka sweetness pairs with it more naturally than refined sugar. The result is a cocktail category with a real Malaysian fingerprint, distinct from the global Espresso Martini wave.
Where the category goes next
Predictions worth less than the paper they are written on, but worth noting:
1. Decaf becomes legitimate. As caffeine sensitivity becomes more discussed, decaf coffee cocktails will move from niche to standard menu offerings. See decaf coffee cocktails.
2. Regional coffee traditions get cocktail treatments. Vietnamese phin coffee, Thai iced coffee, Mexican café de olla, all primed for cocktail interpretations. See Vietnamese phin in cocktails.
3. Coffee shrubs and ferments. Cold-brew kombucha, coffee shrubs, lacto-fermented coffee. The fermentation movement and the coffee-cocktail movement converging.
Related reading
- Robusta for coffee cocktails
- Espresso in cocktails: technique
- Cold brew for cocktails
- Malaysian kopi explained
- Our Espresso Martini recipe
- Our Kopi Sour recipe
Frequently asked questions
What was the first true coffee cocktail?
Irish Coffee, created in 1942 at Foynes Airbase, Ireland by chef Joe Sheridan for cold transatlantic flight passengers. The format (Irish whiskey, hot coffee, brown sugar, lightly whipped cream floated on top) established coffee plus spirit plus sweetener plus cream as a defined cocktail category. It took ten years to spread to the US (popularised at the Buena Vista in San Francisco, 1952).
Who invented the Espresso Martini?
Dick Bradsell at Fred's Club in London, 1983, supposedly built for a supermodel who asked for something that would wake her up and then mess her up. The recipe: vodka, coffee liqueur, fresh espresso, sugar, shaken hard for the silky pale-coffee foam. The drink lay dormant through the 1990s, exploded in popularity in the 2010s, and became the world's most-ordered cocktail in many cities by 2020.
How did the third-wave coffee era change coffee cocktails?
Cocktail bars in the 2010s started treating coffee with the same care as spirits: single-origin beans, brewing-method choices, fresh extraction. Cold brew as a cocktail ingredient became standard. Modern coffee liqueurs (Mr. Black, St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur) replaced Kahlua in serious bars. New formats emerged: Carajillo Resort variations, Cold Brew Old Fashioneds, coffee Negronis, coffee-tequila combinations.
What is distinctive about Malaysian coffee cocktails?
Since the early 2020s, Malaysian bartenders have built coffee cocktails on kopi-O (sock-brewed Malaysian robusta) and the Ipoh white coffee tradition rather than imported Italian-style espresso. Robusta carries through cream and dairy more aggressively; gula melaka pairs with it more naturally than refined sugar. The result is a category with a real Malaysian fingerprint, distinct from the global Espresso Martini wave.
Where can I try a coffee cocktail flight in PJ?
Ask the bartender at Dissolved Solids (43-1 Jalan SS20/11 Damansara Kim) or Soluble Solids (50-1 Jalan SS2/24) for a coffee cocktail flight: three small drinks spanning Irish Coffee, the Espresso Martini, and the Kopi Sour. The flight is the easiest way to taste the historical arc. Message Dissolved Solids on WhatsApp +60 11-4008 7607 or Soluble Solids on +60 11-1682 8651 to reserve.