A carajillo is equal parts espresso and Licor 43, shaken over ice and strained onto fresh ice. Licor 43's own spec calls it 50 ml (about 1.75 oz) of the liqueur to one hot shot of espresso, shaken with ice, per the brand's Carajillo 43 recipe. Two ingredients, no syrup, no cream. That is the whole drink.
Why the split base works
The carajillo is a coffee cocktail with a split base: half espresso, half liqueur. There is no dairy, no sugar bomb, no vodka. The espresso brings the bitterness and body, and Licor 43 brings vanilla, warm caramel, and a little citrus that rounds off the sharp edges of the shot. Because both halves are strong on their own, you do not need to prop the drink up with anything else.
The origin is muddy and worth being honest about. VinePair traces the format back to a Catalan blend of coffee and dark rum, with regional versions across Latin America built on brandy or coffee liqueur before the Licor 43 version took hold in Mexico. Licor 43 itself is made by the Zamora family in Cartagena, Spain, and hit the market in 1946, per VinePair. So the modern carajillo you see on Mexican menus is a fairly recent build on a much older coffee-and-spirit idea.
Carajillo recipe at a glance
| Element | Spec | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Licor 43 | 50 ml (about 1.75 oz) | Original, not a flavored variant |
| Espresso | 1 hot shot | Pulled fresh, poured in hot |
| Ratio | Equal parts | VinePair lists 2 oz to 2 oz |
| Ice | Shaker plus serving glass | Shake, then strain onto fresh ice |
| Method | Shaken | Stir in the glass if you have no shaker |
Source: Licor 43, Carajillo 43. Pour the Licor 43 into a shaker, add the hot espresso and ice, shake, and strain into a glass full of ice. If you skip the shaker and stir it in the glass instead, you lose the frothy top the shake gives you, but the drink still works.
How to build it behind the bar
Pull the shot last so it goes in hot. The temperature swing against the ice is what pulls a thin foam onto the surface when you shake, which is the look people expect. Fill your shaker with ice, add the Licor 43, add the espresso, shake hard for a few seconds, and strain over fresh cubes. Do not shake it to death. You are chilling and aerating, not diluting it into a slushie.
Common misses: using cold or old espresso, which kills the froth; reaching for a flavored Licor 43 when the Original is what the spec means; and adding simple syrup. The liqueur is already sweet, so extra sugar flattens it. If you want a version without the machine, an equally strong moka pot or a concentrated brew stands in fine, the point is intensity against the liqueur.
Serve it in a short rocks glass or a small tumbler over one big cube or a scoop of fresh ice. A big cube melts slower, so the drink holds its balance longer while you sip it. No garnish is needed. Some Mexican bars finish it with a light dusting of cinnamon or a coffee bean on top, but that is a personal touch, not part of the Licor 43 spec.
To batch a round for a table, keep the equal-parts logic and scale both halves together: four espressos to roughly 200 ml of Licor 43 for four drinks. Shake in two goes rather than overloading one shaker, and pull all the shots close to service so the espresso is still hot when it hits the ice.
For context, the FDA cites 400mg of caffeine a day as an amount generally not associated with negative effects in healthy adults. How caffeine affects you depends on your own tolerance and health, so treat these numbers as information, not advice.
Barista Life runs on coffee people. Browse the Barista Life shop to support the site.
Related coffee cocktails and builds
- Cold brew espresso martini: the other split-base coffee drink, built on vodka and cold brew.
- Brown sugar shaken espresso recipe: same shaken-espresso technique, no alcohol.
- Caffeine database: look up how much caffeine is in an espresso shot and everything else.
Carajillo FAQ
What is the ratio for a carajillo? Equal parts. Licor 43's spec is 50 ml (about 1.75 oz) of liqueur to one hot espresso, and VinePair lists 2 oz to 2 oz, so match your liqueur to your shot.
Do you shake or stir a carajillo? Shake it with ice and strain onto fresh ice for the frothy top. Licor 43 says stir it directly in the glass if you have no shaker.
Can I use a flavored Licor 43? The official carajillo uses Licor 43 Original. Flavored variants change the profile, so stick with Original if you want the classic drink.