Espresso martini goes Indian: Subko and Stranger & Sons come together for a bottled filter coffee cocktail

The FILTR Martini blends specialty coffee and gin in a ready-to-drink cocktail

The espresso martini is a caffeinated cocktail as iconic as the ‘90s supermodels who first sipped it. If the story is to be believed, bartender Dick Bradsell whipped up this drink for the first time at London’s Fred’s Club for either Naomi Campbell or Kate Moss. It soon became a symbol of the turn of the millennium, Britpop, and the era’s hedonistic spirit. The retro drink had a revival in the 2020s, when everything ‘90s was back. 

Now, gin brand Stranger & Sons, and homegrown coffee darlings Subko, give the espresso martini a decidedly Indian spin.

Shaken, not stirred

The FILTR Martini takes inspiration from South Indian filter coffee at Udupi darshinis. The ready-to-drink cocktail blends specialty coffee by Subko and Stranger & Sons gin. “Espresso martinis are already iconic, and we were thrilled to learn that the humble filter coffee just got officially ranked as the second-best style of coffee in the world, so the timing of this release could not be better,” says Rahul Mehra, CEO and co-founder of Third Eye Distillery, the makers of Stranger & Sons gin.

“Making this spirit was challenging but extremely exciting. We use our very own filter coffee concentrate that Subko crafted, with its full-bodied richness and chicory depth, giving the cocktail a smoother, more complex texture. The result? A cocktail that’s deeply rooted in tradition but with a forward-thinking twist that’s unmistakably ours,” he adds. This is the brand’s second release in their ‘incahoots series’. The first was the incredibly successful Perry Road Peru, in collaboration with The Bombay Canteen.

How it is made and tasting notes

The process of making the cocktail starts with making “arguably the largest filter coffee decoction batch the country might have seen,” says Mehra. They use a cold steeping extraction method to create a specialty custom “filter kaapi” concentrate. The result is earthy yet still nuanced and sweet. Then a slow brewing method extracts a smoother, fuller-bodied coffee, which balances out the sharper edges of the gin. Chicory, often used in South Indian coffee, adds a slight bitterness and warmth, with a nutty, caramelised flavour.