Espresso Herbtini

The Espresso Herbtini is an herbaceous play on Dick Bradsell’s iconic Espresso Martini. It’s made with vodka, coffee liqueur, vanilla simple syrup, espresso, and a bottle of Underberg, which imparts bracing bitterness and botanical intensity to the drink.

Founded in 1846 in Rheinberg, Germany, Underberg is an herbal digestif flavored with 43 botanicals and sold in tiny, 20-milliliter bottles. The Fernet-like product, with a bitter bite from gentian and notes of anise, cinnamon, clove, and other spices, is known around the world as a post-dinner tonic said to settle the stomach and aid digestion, but it has rarely been used successfully in cocktails. In 2021, mixologist Andreas Andricopoulos created the Espresso Herbtini while working as bar manager at the Michelin-starred restaurant Golvet, after Underberg asked him to create a modern drink to introduce a young audience to the product’s uniquely bitter profile.

“I thought, everyone loves to drink an espresso with a side of Underberg after a meal,” says Andricopoulos. “Why not combine the whole thing?”

His timing was perfect. In 2021, “the Espresso Martini hype was at its height; it was clear to me I had to create a riff,” he says. After he served the Espresso Herbtini at his first mixology convention, the drink became known throughout Germany. “I still see bartenders making it and recommending it at the bar. As soon as a guest asks for an Underberg, they get offered an Herbtini.”

The Espresso Herbtini was so popular, in fact, that Underberg decided to bottle it. The Underberg Espresso Herbtini launched in the company’s signature 20-milliliter bottles in Germany in 2024 — the company’s first new product in almost 200 years. And it’s been a sensation. “In other companies, it’s totally normal to come out with new products, but for a traditional firm like Underberg, it’s an absolute novelty,” he says. “At first, it was only a limited edition, but now it’s a solid part of the portfolio.”

Underberg Espresso Herbtini bottles get tossed back after meals — much like classic Underberg with a slightly softer finish — but also mixed into cocktails. At the 2026 Made in GSA competition, an annual cocktail competition using only ingredients from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, hosted by the German publication Mixology at Suderman bar in Cologne, Clara Schoper from Munich’s Zephyr Bar won with a bittersweet Rum-Cola featuring Birkenhof Brennerei spiced rum, homemade cordial, Schweppes soda water, and Underberg Espresso Herbtini.

Andricopoulos, who’s been bartending for 20 years, used to think that winning awards and seeing his name in the newspaper were the greatest achievements he could hope for. Now, he says, “the biggest success of my career is that my mother can say in the supermarket, ‘Look, my son made that drink.’ Perhaps the Herbtini will exist in 200 years. Then I’ll be immortal.”

What makes the Espresso Herbtini work

While Underberg Espresso Herbtini isn’t yet available in the United States, its cocktail forebear is easy to shake up at home. Whereas the classic Espresso Martini softens the bitterness and acidity of espresso with the sweet richness of a doctored-up coffee drink like a latte, the Espresso Herbtini bolsters its espresso with the similarly invigorating character of Underberg, making the result less dessert-like and more refreshing as an after-dinner drink. Half an ounce of vanilla simple syrup ensures the drink doesn’t get overly harsh while simultaneously providing an aromatic lift. A garnish of one coffee bean and a dusting of nutmeg further enhance the fragrant character of espresso and Underberg.

“Underberg is very intense, dry, and high-alcohol. If it’s poorly incorporated, it quickly overwhelms a drink,” says Andricopoulos. “With the Espresso Herbtini, I created a drink that not only perfectly integrates the aromas of Underberg, but can also be easily understood by guests.”

To nudge the Espresso Herbtini toward the sweeter side, pick a coffee liqueur like Kahlúa, which uses a rum base with a relatively high sugar content. To lean further away from the saccharine, choose an unsweetened coffee liqueur like Mr Black, which is vodka-based. Either way, be sure to add espresso no warmer than room temperature to avoid melting the ice in the cocktail shaker and overly diluting the drink.