Post Meridiem Espresso Martini Review | Your $18 Bar Martini Should Be Embarrassed

I have had some terrible Espresso Martinis. Not terrible in a charming, dive-bar, “at least they tried” sort of way. Terrible in the $18, served in a beautiful coupe, photographed magnificently, tastes like alcoholic Nescafé sort of way. Which creates a slightly uncomfortable problem for bartenders everywhere, because Post Meridiem has managed to put a remarkably convincing Espresso Martini into a can roughly the size of something you’d feed a hamster. And it costs $4.49.

The short answer: Post Meridiem’s Into the Night Espresso Martini is one of the best canned cocktails I’ve come across, and yes, I’d take it over plenty of Espresso Martinis I’ve been served in actual bars. Not over a brilliant one, let’s maintain some dignity. Fresh espresso, properly shaken with good vodka and a thoughtful coffee liqueur by somebody who knows what they’re doing, is still the benchmark. But the average bar Espresso Martini? Now we have a fight. It’s the same can that took the single “Beat the Bar” award in my blind tasting of the best canned cocktails, the one that beat a freshly made version glass against glass, so it’s earned a review of its own.

Post Meridiem currently sells a four-pack for $17.96, or $4.49 per cocktail. The drink is 22.5% ABV and the company’s published recipe is 1⅔ oz vodka, ¾ oz coffee liqueur and 1 oz 100% Arabica cold brew. That’s important, because look at what isn’t on that ingredient list. Malt base. “Agave wine.” Carbonated water. Natural coffee flavor. Vanilla flavoring attempting to disguise the absence of coffee. A chemistry experiment ending in “contains less than 2%.” It’s basically a cocktail, in a tiny can, which is exactly the distinction I drew in what’s actually inside a canned cocktail.

The strangest thing about the Post Meridiem Espresso Martini is how normal its recipe looks. A classic Espresso Martini is fundamentally vodka, coffee liqueur, espresso and sweetness. The International Bartenders Association specifies 50ml vodka, 30ml coffee liqueur, 10ml sugar syrup and one strong espresso, shaken with ice. Now look at Post Meridiem: about 49ml vodka, about 22ml coffee liqueur, about 30ml Arabica cold brew. That’s not “Espresso Martini-inspired alcoholic beverage.” That’s remarkably close to an actual Espresso Martini build, it simply uses cold brew instead of fresh espresso and doesn’t list a separate dose of simple syrup. And that probably explains why independent tasting notes keep describing it as coffee-forward rather than cloyingly sweet, with dark-chocolate character and an unusually substantial texture from the cold brew. This sounds absurdly obvious: if you want a canned Espresso Martini to taste like coffee, putting actual coffee in it is a useful place to start. Apparently we needed to say that.

This needs an important distinction. Can it beat the best Espresso Martini from a great cocktail bar? No, and I don’t think a can should be expected to. A great bartender has one enormous advantage: fresh espresso, shaken hard with ice to create that glorious creamy crema on top. The foam isn’t a separate ingredient; it’s built through vigorous shaking and the coffee itself, and Post Meridiem can’t magically preserve that inside aluminum. But can it beat a lazy bar Espresso Martini? Absolutely believable. You know the one: vodka, too much coffee liqueur, coffee that’s been sitting around, something syrupy, and three coffee beans strategically positioned so you’ll forgive the preceding crimes. That’s where the can becomes dangerous, because Post Meridiem has consistency on its side. Every can already contains a measured cocktail. Nobody is free-pouring the liqueur, nobody forgot the espresso on the machine for ten minutes, nobody panicked during a Saturday-night rush and doubled the syrup because six other tickets landed at once. For $4.49, you’re getting a properly proportioned, full-strength little cocktail, which is extraordinary value against what an Espresso Martini costs in most American bars.

Post Meridiem uses one full ounce of 100% Arabica cold brew. Not coffee flavoring, not coffee essence, coffee. The company describes it as a dark roast and says the drink carries naturally occurring caffeine from the real coffee. Using cold brew makes sense for a canned product: fresh espresso is wonderful but unstable, you can’t make an Espresso Martini, put it on a shelf for weeks and expect the crema to politely wait for you. Cold brew gives Post Meridiem something durable while keeping the bitter roasted-coffee character the cocktail actually needs. There’s a compromise, of course, cold brew doesn’t have quite the same aromatic punch or crema-producing behaviour as a freshly pulled espresso. That’s the trade: fresh espresso wins on aroma and foam; Post Meridiem wins on consistency and convenience. I’ll take that bargain.

This is where canned cocktails are occasionally victims of their own convenience. Yes, technically you can crack it open and drink it. You can also eat ravioli cold from the tin. We have choices. Post Meridiem specifically recommends shaking the can and pouring over ice, because real ingredients settle. I’d go one step further: chill the can hard, tip it into a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice, shake the hell out of it, and strain into a chilled coupe. Three coffee beans if you’re feeling theatrical. At which point something slightly ridiculous has happened, you bought a canned cocktail for convenience and you’re using a cocktail shaker, but this is 12×75. We lost the plot several hundred bottles ago.

Do not let the adorable 100ml can fool you. This isn’t a hard seltzer. Post Meridiem Espresso Martini is 22.5% ABV, 45 proof, which makes sense when roughly half the liquid going into the recipe is vodka. A 100ml can at 22.5% contains about 22.5ml of pure alcohol, which, using the US standard-drink definition of 0.6 fl oz (about 14g) of pure alcohol, works out at roughly 1.3 US standard drinks in one tiny can. It’s a useful reminder of something I keep banging on about in the canned cocktail calories and how many drinks are in a can guides: can size tells you almost nothing, ABV does. A 100ml cocktail at 22.5% is not a cute little beer. It’s a proper drink.

Yes, and not one of those awards where everybody gets a gold sticker for successfully submitting the entry form. Post Meridiem’s Espresso Martini won Double Gold and Best of Class for Classic Cocktail Ready-to-Drink at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, beating more than 110 entrants, and the company still prominently uses that win. I don’t think medals automatically make drinks good, I’ve tasted enough medal-winning wine and spirits to know better, but here the award aligns with what independent reviewers and ordinary drinkers keep saying: this isn’t good for a canned cocktail. It’s just good. That distinction matters, and it’s the whole reason it topped my canned cocktails tasting.

The great bar wins. The average bar? I’m taking the can surprisingly often. And against the rest of the canned field, Tip Top, Cutwater, Golden Rule and the various vodka brands deciding coffee is the next place to put their logo, Post Meridiem stands out because it seems to have worked backwards from the cocktail rather than forwards from the manufacturing problem. What is an Espresso Martini? Vodka, coffee, coffee liqueur. Fine. Put those in the can. If you like that philosophy, the right vodka is where the fresh version starts.

Very much so. Four cans currently cost $17.96 direct, making them $4.49 each; you’ll find different retail pricing locally, but even paying somewhat more, you’re nowhere near cocktail-bar money. And unlike buying a bottle of vodka, coffee liqueur, coffee and syrup, there’s no half-used collection of ingredients staring at you from the kitchen three months later. Shake, pour, drink. That’s a strong proposition.

It’s not fresh espresso, that’s the unavoidable one. I’d also prefer it served up rather than simply over ice, because the Espresso Martini is one of those drinks where presentation is half the fun, it deserves the silly glass, the foam, the three beans. And while the tiny can is brilliant, its size is almost deceptive given the 22.5% ABV; this isn’t something to throw back like a seltzer. Finally, availability was historically the bigger complaint, though the company now says its cocktails reach 40 states, so distribution has expanded a lot, even if it’s still not as ubiquitous as the biggest RTD brands.

I started this whole canned-cocktail rabbit hole expecting to make excuses. “This is good considering it came from a can.” “This would be useful at a picnic.” “This isn’t terrible on an airplane.” Post Meridiem’s Espresso Martini doesn’t really need those qualifications. It’s a proper 22.5% ABV cocktail made from vodka, real Arabica cold brew and coffee liqueur; the proportions look remarkably like a bartender’s recipe; it isn’t drowning in carbonation; it doesn’t pretend malt alcohol is vodka; and somebody has clearly thought about what an Espresso Martini is supposed to taste like before thinking about how to sell it in aluminum. Would I take one over the best freshly shaken Espresso Martini in London or New York? Of course not, that would be silly. But the mediocre $16 to $20 Espresso Martini from a bar that cares more about the glass than the coffee? Now I’m taking the tiny can, which is both deeply impressive for Post Meridiem and mildly embarrassing for the bar.

12×75 verdictOne of the very few canned cocktails capable of making the bartender nervous. Buy again: yes. Serve very cold, shaken hard with ice and strained into a coupe if you can be bothered. It tastes as though somebody started with the cocktail rather than the can.

What is in the Post Meridiem Espresso Martini?

Post Meridiem lists vodka, house-made coffee liqueur and 100% Arabica cold brew coffee. Its published recipe contains 1⅔ oz vodka, ¾ oz coffee liqueur and 1 oz cold brew.

How strong is it?

22.5% ABV, or 45 proof. A 100ml can holds about 22.5ml of pure alcohol, roughly 1.3 US standard drinks.

How big is the can?

100ml, about 3.4oz, one of the tiny full-strength cans Post Meridiem pioneered.

Does it contain caffeine?

Yes, natural caffeine from the real Arabica cold brew coffee used in the cocktail.

Does it contain real espresso?

No. It uses 100% Arabica cold brew coffee rather than freshly pulled espresso, which is more shelf-stable for a canned product.

Should you shake it?

Yes. The company recommends shaking the can before serving because real ingredients settle. For a more traditional finish, shake it hard with ice and strain into a chilled coupe.

Is it any good?

Independent reviews praise its strong coffee character, balance and unusually convincing resemblance to a proper cocktail, and it won Double Gold and Best of Class at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

How much does it cost?

Post Meridiem lists it at $4.49 per cocktail, with a four-pack at $17.96 through its online store. Local retail pricing varies.

Is it better than a bar Espresso Martini?

Not a great one, fresh espresso and a vigorous shake still produce aroma and crema a shelf-stable can can’t fully reproduce. But against an average, overly sweet, badly balanced bar version, it has a remarkably convincing case.

BY VIM, EDITOR OF 12×75. Tasted personally; no brand paid for this review. At 22.5% ABV a single 100ml can is roughly 1.3 US standard drinks, please drink responsibly.