Drink of the Week: Estate 98 Espresso Liqueur

Even before the Espresso Martini came roaring back into the cultural zeitgeist around 2021, the category of coffee liqueurs had grown well beyond Kahlúa. Both larger brands and craft distillers were experimenting with methods to capture the flavors of coffee in a spirit. A new entrant in the category, Estate 98 Espresso Liqueur highlights the bright complexity of single-origin specialty coffee, bringing flavors well matched to modern craft cocktails.

Founded by brothers Andres and Jose Larin, the coffee used for the Estate 98 comes from their own sixth-generation family farm in El Salvador near the Santa Ana Volcano. The beans are honey processed—a method that can emphasize sweetness and fruit-forward flavors—before being extracted and blended with a neutral cane spirit base and some natural vanilla, with small quantity of sugar.

The resulting liqueur is strikingly similar in flavor to a freshly pulled shot of espresso—albeit one with a kick—highlighting bitter chocolate notes, a bright, fruity acidity, and just enough sweetness to bring it into balance. Markedly less sweet than a standard coffee liqueur, the Estate 98 Espresso Liqueur is also higher in caffeine, clocking in roughly parallel to actual espresso. Complex enough to enjoy solo, prepare it like a shakerato or in your preferred Espresso Martini build. The brighter flavors of the espresso in the liqueur would even lend well to a spritz, with a splash of limoncello and some soda water. $44.99, shop.estate98.com