Originally made as a pick me up, this is one of the best cocktails there is.  You can use any vodka but I have a sweet tooth and like Thunder toffee or vanilla.  Make sure you use full ice cubes rather than bits because you don’t want the ice to melt too quickly as it will water your drink down.

Ingredients
Handful of ice cubes 
20 ml espresso 
40 ml Vodka (I really like thunder toffee vodka or vanilla vodka but any vodka will work) 
20 ml Kahlua 
10ml simple syrup 
3 whole coffee beans 

Equipment needed 
Cocktail shaker 

Method
Make the coffee and let it completely cool.  It needs to be totally cold so that the ice does not melt and the drink is cold enough.  This tastes fantastic with fresh espresso but it does also work with espresso made with espresso powder, you might just need an additional 10ml of kahlua. 

Add ice to a cocktail shaker then add the cold coffee, vodka, Kahlua and simple syrup.  Put the lid on and start to shake hard - really really hard.  The shaking is what produces the crema (foam) that sits on top.  Strain into a martini or cocktail glass and top with the coffee beans.