Some cocktails need very little introduction. The Espresso Martini is one of them: recognizable, intense, and capable of bringing together two worlds that seem made for each other — cocktails and coffee.
But a great classic can also become a starting point.
In the new 2026 cocktail menu at UGO Cocktail Bar – Bistrot, the Espresso Martini leaves Earth and heads towards Uranus. The result is Uranus: vodka, Amaro Nonino, coffee and black cherry, four elements that reinterpret the character of the famous cocktail through UGO’s own style.
An Espresso Martini with a Different Direction
The idea behind Uranus begins with a familiar structure but changes the way it is expressed.
Coffee maintains the central role you would expect from an Espresso Martini, while vodka provides a clean base on which the rest of the drink can be built. It is with the addition of Amaro Nonino and black cherry, however, that the cocktail takes on an identity of its own.
The amaro adds depth and a more complex dimension to the aromatic character of the coffee. Black cherry introduces a fruity note that moves between sweetness, acidity and darker nuances.
The idea, then, is not to change a classic until it becomes unrecognizable, but to start from its identity and build something new.
Vodka, Coffee, Amaro Nonino and Black Cherry
Four ingredients may not sound like many. In a cocktail, however, simplicity does not necessarily mean ease.
When the elements are this recognizable, proportions and technique become even more important. The coffee should not overpower everything else, the alcoholic component needs to integrate into the structure, and the sweeter notes should accompany the drink without dominating it.
Uranus plays precisely with this balance.
The result retains the intensity that has made the Espresso Martini one of the most recognizable contemporary cocktails, while introducing a more Italian profile through Amaro Nonino and an unexpected nuance from black cherry.
Why the Espresso Martini Continues to Work
Few cocktails move so naturally between different moments of an evening.
An Espresso Martini can arrive after dinner, be ordered at the bar during a night out, or simply become the cocktail of choice when you want something more intense and aromatic than a fresh, citrus-driven drink.
Part of its success comes from an identity that is difficult to mistake. The aroma of coffee arrives before the first sip, while texture, temperature and alcohol create an experience quite different from many other cocktails.
It is a relatively modern classic, yet it has already earned a distinct place in international cocktail culture.
Uranus and UGO’s 2026 Cocktail Odyssey
Uranus was not created as an isolated cocktail. It is part of the 2026 Cocktail Odyssey, UGO’s new menu conceived as a journey through its own particular cocktail galaxy.
Each cocktail takes the name of a planet and interprets a familiar structure in its own way. The idea is to travel through different styles and references while maintaining a common thread: starting from cocktail culture and taking it in a personal direction.
For Uranus, the reference is explicit: Espresso Martini. On the menu, it is accompanied by the line “42 light-year season. Espresso Martinis only!”, fitting naturally into the space-inspired narrative of the entire menu.
It is a playful way of presenting something that, behind the bar, requires considerable precision.
Espresso Martini in Navigli: UGO’s Interpretation
In an area like Milan’s Navigli, where cocktail bars and nightlife venues are certainly not in short supply, a cocktail menu needs an identity of its own.
At UGO, on Via Corsico, that identity has long been shaped by mixology, ingredient research and the reinterpretation of cocktails.
Uranus follows the same philosophy. It does not try to replace the classic Espresso Martini or make it unnecessarily complicated. Instead, it recognizes the character of the original and uses it as the foundation for something different.
Vodka, coffee, Amaro Nonino and black cherry: a small number of elements, a recognizable structure and enough distance from the original to give the drink a personality of its own.
A Journey That Begins in the Glass
UGO’s new menu imagines every cocktail as a destination.
Uranus is one of the first we can now tell through its real image as well: an essential presentation in a coupe glass, with the deep color of coffee beneath a compact, pale layer of foam.
The rest comes with the first sip.
For anyone looking for an Espresso Martini in Milan and wanting to try something that begins with the classic without stopping at the traditional recipe, Uranus perfectly represents UGO’s approach to mixology.
An Espresso Martini launched into space.Destination: Uranus.
