Not sure if you heard, but Spain won the World Cup.
Too soon?
As if we hadn’t seen enough fancy footwork on the field, Spain’s talents also extend to the bar. Yup, they’ve gone and invented a coffee-based drink that’s fast becoming the new espresso martini.
But do we need the Spanish version of our beloved coffee cocktail? It turns out, we most certainly do.
What’s the Spanish Version?
It’s called the carajillo, (pronounced caah-raah-hee-yo), and it’s a two-ingredient cocktail you can whip up in seconds; made from equal parts Licor 43 and chilled (or hot, or warm) espresso, shaken over ice and garnished with a ribbon of orange zest.
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More accurately, it’s Spain’s answer to the Irish Coffee, Norwegian Karsk or the Italian Caffe Corretto (I love the idea of a corrected coffee).
It’s simple, yet potent. In fact, it’s the simplicity (and potency, probably) that Joe Harper, head of food & beverage operations at The Zetter hotel, believes is the drink’s superpower.
‘The carajillo is definitely a lot easier to put together than a good espresso martini,’ Joe tells Metro. ‘So I can totally understand the appeal.’
How to make a carajillo
· 50ml Licor 43
· 50ml freshly-pulled espresso coffee
· Ice
Pour the liquid into a shaker with the ice, give it a good shake and strain into an ice-filled tumbler (rocks glass).
Garnish with a ribbon of orange, expressed over the drink beforehand.
Add three coffee beans (representing health, wealth and happiness), though that’s entirely optional.
The PG version is that the name comes from the Spanish word ‘coraje’, meaning courage. Legend has it that Spanish soldiers stationed in Cuba would lace their coffee with spirits to give themselves liquid bravery before battle.
The less wholesome theory is that the drink originated in Andalucia, where morning drinking was the norm. It could be a diminutive of the curse word, ‘Carajo!’, which means ‘s***’ or ‘f*** it’. It wouldn’t have been out of place to hear half-cut Andalusians shouting, ‘a carajillo!’ over their morning coffee. Allegedly…
Either way, through Spanish trade and migration, the boozy coffee digestif made its way over to Mexico. Nowadays, other than tequila and mezcal, the carajillo is now one of Mexico’s most widely-ordered drinks, especially as a post-meal digestif. Incidentally, the Spanish word for that is ‘sobremesa’, or ‘over the table’.
The younger generation has even taken to ordering the carajillo on a night-out, as a pick-me-up. You could also say that it’s the new and vastly improved vodka redbull.
How’s it different to the espresso martini?
First of all, the carajillo is served in a tumbler, not a martini glass. So, it immediately looks cooler; not unlike a frothy old fashioned. And because Licor 43 is named after the botanicals it contains, including vanilla, orange peel and cocoa, it’s delicately spiced, rich and vanilla-forward.
When paired with espresso, the result is something light and delicately sweet with notes of orange, vanilla and chocolate.
Which coffee cocktail do you prefer?
Where can you order a carajillo in London?
Currently, your best bets are tapas venues, including Camino and Las Iguanas.
At the posher end, there’s Viajante87 in Notting Hill, who use cooled espresso and 15ml cold brew coffee liqueur (Mr Black) as well as Licor 43.
Santo Remedio also does a carajillo; theirs even comes with a sugar rim and a dinky (for London) £10 price tag.
If you’re not in the capital, don’t panic, as you should expect to see the drink taking over bar menus across the UK soon, as Joe predicts it’s going to have its own viral moment.
‘I can totally see it appealing for the same reasons as the espresso martini. When that’s the case, a takeover is always possible.’
Britain’s love affair with boozy coffeee
Back in 2024 the Espresso Martini was the UK’s most sought-after cocktail on the web, with 74,000 average monthly searches. Globally, it was number 4 on the list.
Why? Because we can’t get enough of coffee, quite frankly. In fact, archaeologists have discovered evidence that Britain’s love affair with coffee began well before Starbucks started writing the wrong names on paper cups.
Rewind to the seventeenth century and we were drinking something not dissimilar to Turkish Coffee. Coffee houses soon began replacing taverns as spaces to network and socialise. By 1663, there were 83 coffee houses in London, which were exclusively for men to talk business.
Nowadays, coffee shops are ubiquitous on highstreets, all the way to drive-through Costas on motorways. We’re saturated with the bean, and the next logical step was to add booze.
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