Podcast Summary:
“Anyway, I’ll Drink to That” is a Boozn Sam’s production, exploring the fun, quirky, and fascinating tales of drinks (Espresso Martini in this episode) that define culture, history and the world. Every drink has a story to tell, and I’m going to tell it…as true as I can. Hosted by Sam, from Boozn Sam’s. Saddle up with a good cocktail and give me a few minutes of your time for a mystery surrounding a drink that changed the world.
Episode 38 Notes: Pick Me Up
Olivia had been experimenting with things that could pick her up and also put her down for years. The things evolved too over the years. Now that she was out of college, had a good first job, and was an adult, she needed to get a little more sophisticated with her pick me ups. She needed an Espresso Martini.
Transcript of Podcast:
*Note – This is the full episode and containers spoilers. You can always listen to the podcast above.
Olivia was in London sitting at a mostly empty bar at 9 pm, exhausted, and trying to figure out what drink to order. Her mind flashed back to a few years prior. Those college years. She smiled.
Olivia wasn’t just your average college freshman—she was a *freshman on a mission*. When she first stepped foot on the sprawling campus, she had a clear, concise plan: make friends, ace her classes, and experience every cliché that college life had to offer.
Make decisions without fear of the long term consequences, because she was on a 4 year plan, after all, and then adios!
Giving in to the Tuesday night chant of “Chug!” “Chug!” “Chug!”
And waking up Wednesday late for class because she’d worked so hard the night before on drinking all of the drinks the frat party had on her journey to find herself.
Enjoying that first nectar of freedom from parental supervision.
Studying hard, and partying harder. Burning the candle at both ends.
And if she was going to survive this first glimpse of adulthood, she was going to need a drink that could keep up with her.
It was in the basement of a sorority house, amidst flashing lights and sweaty bodies, that Olivia found herself staring at a plastic cup filled with a golden, bubbly liquid.
“Try it,” said her new friend, Abby, who was already halfway through her second cup. “It’s *life-changing*.”
Olivia raised an eyebrow. “What’s in it?”
Abby looked at her like she’d just asked what water was. “It’s the ultimate college drink! It’s how you party all night and still make it to your 8 AM lecture the next day.”
Since Olivia had missed a few of those 8 AM classes she thought it was worth a shot. She took a gulp. The drink was sweet. With a sharp edge to it. And energizing in a way that made her feel like she’d just ran around the house barefoot in the first snow of the season. It was a weird combination of buzzed relaxation.
By the end of the night, Olivia was in love. Not with a boy or with college, but with her new best friend—her signature college drink. It was a drink that would define her college experience and be with her through all of the sorority parties, football game tailgating, the 3 AM post bar parties, late night study sessions, and all the other shenanigans she found herself part of.
She made the drink so often she could make it with the precision of a chemist. She had the perfect ratio of tipsy and energy in each drink, and it let her bust a move on the dance floor late into the night and still not miss a beat the next morning.
Of course there were downsides to heavy drinking and staying up all night, but a college kid never worries about the downsides or hazards of burning the candle at both ends. That’s because she has the energy to do it. So, the heart palpitations, the headaches post night out, the constant exhaustion, all day, every day, and the need to basically hook herself up to an IV of caffeine just to survive the day, were all things she attributed to the college experience. So, she did the logical thing. She kept on the path she was on, because quitting is for…well, quitters.
After all, this was college, right? Pushing through exhaustion by whatever means necessary, in order to maximize the experiences and enjoy every moment of this fleeting time.
Her relationships with her drink was as toxic as most of her relationships at this point, and, although she didn’t know it then, she’d likely need years of therapy to work through all of the relationships AND the decisions she made while taking down her drink of choice.
“What’ll it be?”
She looked at Dick, who was behind the bar. He was looking at her, waiting for her to order a drink. She’d spaced it. Gotten lost thinking about those college days.
She smiled and drummed her fingers on the bar top. “I need something that’ll wake me up and fuck me up.”
Dick laughed. “I’ve got just the thing.”
Perhaps all growing up was trading her baggy t-shirt for a pants suit. Swapping a day in a windowless lecture hall for a windowless office. Both still had the tedious, mind numbing quality about them, after all.
Or, trading her college drink of choice, a deadly combo of caffeine and alcohol that will keep you up all night, for a more sophisticated, more expensive, version of that same idea. One that maybe also didn’t have the day after side effects. One… a little more pure…
Because, she was mature now. An adult. She was past that partying, experimenting, college girl stuff. And she could afford it. She had a great paying job.
Of course, Dick also knew this and he saw an opportunity to really cash in with her and build a long time customer. He even considered for a split second giving her the first one for free, but he reconsidered the idea. She was slumping a bit. Her eyes looked heavy. She would pay. He knew that.
Plus, They were in a sophisticated London Bar and serving up something as… youthful…as a vodka redbull would be a little beneath him. But, the blueprint could still remain the same. A pick me up and alcohol. For adults, well, the adult pick me up of choice, that many who are post college put straight into their systems like it’s a form of life saving medication, is, of course….
A drug that Dick had to head into the back to find.
He tracked down the man with the supply. His dealer looked at him with a confused expression.
Dick shrugged. He knew it was…unusual at this time of night. His supplier sighed and reached for a bag, which he promptly tossed toward Dick. “100% Columbian.”
Ahh, the good stuff, thought Dick. A sale was a sale, after all. And who was he to question when or where it came from.
Dick glanced left and right to make sure no one was watching them. Then he went back through the kitchen to the front of house once more.
He made eye contact with Olivia and noticed her shift uncomfortably in her seat. She too glanced around her. But, they had nothing to worry about. It was early in the week and the bar was mostly empty. Everyone was drinking away their stresses and distracting themselves from life. In short, no one really cared what she was doing.
Dick dug into the bag and scooped out some of the fine, powder. He looked at it. It looked fresh. This was going to be some good stuff. And he knew the good stuff when he saw it. He grinned. Then he prepped a line. This was going to hit her hard. It was exactly what she needed.
He saw this attitude all the time. The late twenty somethings out in the real world now, looking to relive a bit of their college days every once in a while and capture that high energy feeling of how they expected the world to always be, but never found.
To banish the disappointment of being in a world that was so unlike what they’d been prepped for in college, and the slow, sinking realization that what college was doing was not prepping them to succeed in life, but to be a trained monkey throwing shit around in a cubicle.
Birth of the Espresso Martini
So…Dick fired up the espresso machine behind the bar and watched the thick, dark stream of espresso drip into a cup and steam. He was right. This coffee was fresh and this was going to be a great drink.
He grabbed vodka and did a two second pour into a mixer. Followed by the addition of coffee liqueur. Then a dash of simple syrup. Finally, he poured in the espresso.
Dick shook the drink on ice, then strained it into a martini glass.
He set the drink in front of Olivia. “A Vodka Espresso.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“It’s got the pick me up you need. And it’s boozy…in a good way.”
Olivia took a drink. It was chocolatey and she could barely taste the vodka in it. It was perfect. Dick was right.
And of course, the drink the renowned bartender Dick Bradsell had come up with would later become known as the
Espresso Martini
The espresso martini is a drink that’s making a resurgence today. The Espresso Martini is a drink that combines the best things of adulting – coffee and a bit of booze.
It’s an upscale Vodka Redbull, which Olivia drank in college, that fits the high minded, post college, I’m a working professional now and wouldn’t be caught dead doing anything I did in college, now as a adult.
The espresso martini, a sophisticated version of the Vodka Redbull that’s perfect for the ever-exhausted adult that still wants to have a social life but also struggles with the desire to just crawl into bed by 9 pm, read a book, pet the cats, and call it a day.
Anyway… I’ll drink to that.