Safe to say it'll be a long, long time before I'm ready to grate parmesan over anything again.
Here at Lovin, we're always ready and willing to jump on a food trend and when we saw this viral
parmesan espresso martini recipe cropping up on TikTok, our interest was piqued.
US mixologists insist the combo of cheese and coffee is an age-old pairing, and one that works perfectly in this drink. The saltiness of the cheese is said to offset the bitterness of the coffee, creating a perfect example of the flavour element umami.
Naturally, we had to try one.
Challenge accepted
Capel Street-adjacent bar
Pennylane bravely offered up their services to create the cocktail - their espresso martini is one of the most popular drinks on their menu and is usually served with a grating of orange zest, which most would consider a far more palatable addition.
With a 28 month aged wedge of parmesan in hand, I approached Pennylane where the Dingle Vodka was ready and waiting to be mixed.
Before we get into it, I'll just say I've tried the orange zest espresso martini from Pennylane and it's absolutely delicious, a Terry's Chocolate Orange in a martini glass. The parmesan mart isn't on their cocktail menu and probably won't be added anytime soon, so I'm not worried about sharing my true experience. I asked for this combo, they provided it. The rest is on me.
Pennylane's regular espresso martini - a delicious beverage by all accounts.
First impressions
The parmesan grating looks elegant and welcoming atop the foam of the martini - it could almost be white chocolate. When I got closer to the glass, the whiff of cheese hit me and I braced myself for a taste. On first sip, all you can really taste is the cocktail itself - delicious as per, with no hint of cheese. It's only after a second or two that the saltiness hits.
Coffee and cheese - a match made in heaven?
We thought maybe we hadn't added enough cheese (even though mixologist
Jordan Hughes insists that you don't go overboard - "your Espresso Martini is
not a plate of pasta"). Convinced I hadn't done it right, I kept sipping to see if the cheese settled in more to the drink after it was left to rest for a minute or two. It remained pretty much the same - a strong whiff of parmesan while sipping, a savoury aftertaste but not much difference to the cocktail itself. We tried a new tactic (Penny Lane barman Diego's excellent suggestion) - mixing the cheese into the actual espresso before preparing the cocktail.
Aftermath
We were convinced this would up the levels of cheesiness, but it didn't really. Slightly buzzed off my few sips of the caffeinated cocktail I headed back to the office, and it was only on the walk that the aftertaste of parmesan reared its 28-month-aged head. The coffee and cheese had settled in my stomach and I started to feel really unwell - probably because I was chugging as much as I could to try and get the intended taste. The fact that it was a sunny day didn't help - I felt like a block of sweaty cheese myself, melting away in the sun. Luckily I made it back to the office without getting sick - but it was touch and go for a while.
Final thoughts
I've tried all sorts of bizarre foods for this job and wouldn't be sensitive when it comes to flavour pairings - nothing has ever lingered like this. If you're curious about the drink, give it a try but I wouldn't recommend a whole one and I certainly wouldn't recommend staying on them for the night. An odd trend that I can't see standing the test of time but hey, stranger things have happened.
Thanks to Pennylane for being great craic and giving the recipe a go with us! I definitely recommend popping into them for a boogie and some (non-cheesy) cocktails.
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