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Over the last few weeks, blogs<\/a>, newspapers<\/a>, and TikTok bartenders<\/a> have endorsed grating Parmesan onto an espresso martini. While the sea of positive reviews grants this surprising partnership some culinary legitimacy, a key question remains: Would this work at a regular bar?<\/p>\n Theoretically, the drink makes sense. Adding Parmesan to this caffeinated cocktail aligns with the established practice of using umami to round out the bitter notes of espresso. Many popular espresso martini recipes<\/a> accomplish this by using salt for a similar mellowing effect. For example, Balderdash<\/a>, a critically acclaimed Copenhagen cocktail bar, has been adding bacon salt<\/a> to its slushy espresso cocktail since 2016.<\/p>\n As anyone who\u2019s ever consumed an interesting sounding, brightly-hued cocktail surely knows, at a regular bar, theoretical promise rarely translates to practical success. Of course, there are exceptions (like the \u201cdirty\u201d Shirley Temple<\/a>), and those are the drinks we hold onto forever.<\/p>\n In hopes of evaluating the practical merit of this cheese-dusted cocktail, I went to the most regular bar in my neighborhood and ordered an espresso martini with a side of Parmesan. Within minutes, an espresso martini covered in thick, flavorless, pre-grated Parmesan sat before me.<\/p>\n
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