Parmesan espresso martinis and other wild drink trends to try

Espresso martinis sprinkled with Parmesan is the latest baffling TikTok trend to take off.

TikTok is no stranger to unusual drink combinations – remember the jalapeño rosé of last summer?

‘Parmesan espresso martini’ has clocked up 323.7 million views on the platform, with fans urging us to try it before judging the combination.

“I regret to inform you, that was kind of awesome,” TikTok user and cocktail specialist Jordan Hughes (@highproofpreacher) said after trying the drink for the first time.

According to Phoebe Wyburd, ex-bartender and brand rep for Ten Locks, espresso martinis and Parmesan pairs “so nicely”.

She says: “Things like Parmesan have an oiliness to them that coats your mouth and pairs nicely with rich flavours like coffee and chocolate.”

Plus, there’s been a rise in the popularity of savoury cocktails.

“People are loving umami in cocktails, people don’t want sickly sweet cocktails anymore. It was always citrus or sweet and no in-between in the past,” Wyburd says.

“Umami is now in the middle and more savoury.”

While Parmesan might seem completely out of left field for a cocktail, Wyburd suggests it makes sense as vodka often pairs well with Italian flavours.

Just think of model Gigi Hadid’s viral recipe for spicy vodka pasta, and Wyburd adds: “Absolut vodka has just paired with Heinz to make a pasta sauce.”

If a Parmesan espresso martini sounds good to you, why not try these other unusual – and up-and-coming – drink trends…

In a pickle

Wyburd wants to see “pickle juice in everything – it is the most underrated flavour”, she says.

“Put pickle juice in your Bloody Mary and martinis… I am partial to a gin martini with pickle juice, elderflower syrup, orange bitters, grapefruit for garnish and lemon verbena flavours.”

Fat-washing

Wyburd predicts more bars are going to get on board with fat-washing.

This is when fat or oil – such as butter or bacon fat – is infused into a spirit, left to separate and then strained with a cheesecloth. That can then be mixed in a cocktail.

Wyburd has tried it with “a miso fat-wash in a spirit, and a bacon fat-wash”.

Spicy and sweet

While a spicy margarita is pretty standard these days, chilli chocolate drinks are the latest spicy and sweet combination to take over.

There have been TikToks made on chilli chocolate Manhattans and martinis, and Wyburd says it could also fit nicely in an espresso martini.

Shrubs

Shrubs are fruit or veg-based cordials mixed with vinegar, which can be used in cocktails.

“Shrubs are going to be huge moving into summer,” says Wyburd.

“They are a low-waste way to make a syrup using vinegar”, which is important as “sustainability is a massive thing in bartending”.

Wyburd says her favourite way to drink it is a beetroot shrub mojito.