Locations: Soho, Shoreditch, Holborn, London Bridge
Damage: £

Weekend’s here!

Perking up and letting your hair down at the same time might look like a dilemma, but not this June 2015! Espresso Martini Month descending upon the various Grind café bars around London, in partnership with Merlet Cognac.

For all of June, the Grinds release four limited edition cognac cocktails that run at 5 pounds, and quite honestly, knocking its vodka-based brothers out of the shop.

The Merlet Brother’s Blend VSOP has a rich, light nose: apricots, vanilla, winter spice. The palate brings out those stone fruits, and goes fantastically with the newly launched Merlet C2 coffee liqueur.

The nose of the C2 is gorgeous, roasting beans and coffee, vanilla and cocoa, followed by the lighter scents from its cognac base. The palate brings out the very same flavours with bit of a spice kick, and something much like liquorice.

Together with sugar syrup and the Grind’s signature espresso, the limited edition Espresso Martini is a fresh change from the traditional vodka based drink, and brings out the fruit flavours of the spirits involved, and spreads out the notes in the coffee.

In short? That’s a pretty damn good Espresso Martini. And that’s coming from someone who isn’t a fan of Espresso Martinis in the first place. Smooth, rich, sweet, with a bite.

But that’s not all, the Grinds present two alternatives: a Vanilla, and an Orange Espresso Martini!

Using homemade (literally, right there in a saucepan on the stove), syrups, the Vanilla Espresso Martini is certainly the sweeter of the two, and with a powerful vanilla flavour, is built to be a dessert drink.

The Orange Espresso Martini, however, is much more subtle, and though does not scream ‘orange’, brings out the citrus flavours of the cognac with itself, providing a much lighter experience than the Vanilla.

As a Merlet bonus, the Grinds will also be serving up Sidecars (Merlet Brothers Blend Cognac, triple sec, lemon juice) with this month’s menu!

5 quid to make morning drinking and night coffees acceptable – it’s a small price to pay.

Check out the Grind locations below!