Zero Proof

Espresso Tonic

A double espresso poured over a tall glass of tonic and ice so it floats in a dark layer: bitter, fizzy and bright.

Strength
No alcohol
Calories
≈ 44
Glass
Highball
Method
Built

The recipe

How to make it

  1. 1Fill a big glass to the rim with ice.
  2. 2Pour in the tonic and let it settle while you make the espresso.
  3. 3Pour the espresso gently over the ice and serve at once.

Garnish: A slice of lemon or lime.

Variations: Pour the tonic onto the espresso instead and it foams up. Baristas add sugar syrup, cherry, lime or honey.

Neither source measures the tonic: Koppi fills a 350 ml glass with ice and pours in tonic; olive uses 50 ml coffee. The 120 ml of tonic is the site’s figure. Use a fruity espresso.

The ratio

2½ : 1

In parts, an Espresso Tonic is 2½ tonic water and 1 coffee. Change one part and you have a cousin; the closest are below.

Find the Espresso Tonic on the ratio map →

Built the same way

Head to head

More Zero Proof

  • Chapman — Orange and lemon-lime sodas reddened with grenadine and seasoned with bitters, cucumber and citrus: Nigeria’s favorite party drink, served in a big dimpled mug.
  • Cinderella — Orange, pineapple and lemon shaken with a little grenadine and lengthened with soda: a long, fresh, fruit-punch sour.
  • Egg Cream — Chocolate syrup and cold milk whipped up with a hard stream of seltzer: a New York soda-fountain classic with a tall foamy head and, despite the name, no egg and no cream.
  • Ice Cream Soda — Syrup and cream fizzed up with soda water and crowned with scoops of vanilla ice cream: the soda-fountain treat, eaten with a spoon and drunk through a straw.
  • Italian Soda — Sparkling water and a shot of fruit syrup over ice: the simplest soda there is, in any flavor you like.
  • Lemon, Lime and Bitters — Clear lemonade and lime over ice with dashes of aromatic bitters on top: Australia’s pub soft drink, pink-tinged and gently bitter.

All 17 Zero Proof →