Your Long Weekend Just Got a Lot More Delicious
Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer—and with it comes BBQs, boat days, road trips, and rooftop hangs. Whether you’re heading to the lake, lounging poolside, or grilling with friends, one thing’s for sure: you need a well-stocked cooler.
And yes, that cooler should absolutely include Spark Plug’s award-winning nitro-infused espresso martini.
Here’s the thing about a three-day weekend: it has a rhythm. Late brunch bleeds into a lazy afternoon, which somehow becomes a second wind around five o’clock, which turns into a long golden evening you don’t want to end. Most cooler drinks are built for exactly one of those moments. An espresso martini is built for the pivot—the hinge between afternoon and night, when the sun is dropping and everyone needs a little lift to keep going. Coffee and cocktail in one pour. That’s the whole trick, and it’s a good one.
Why Spark Plug Belongs in Your Cooler
While most people think beer and seltzer, savvy hosts know that bringing a ready-to-drink cocktail like Spark Plug is how you instantly elevate the vibe. The espresso martini earned its reputation in dim, late-night rooms—a bartender’s answer to “something that’ll wake me up.” Spark Plug takes that exact idea and makes it pack-and-go: canned, nitro-infused, and ready to drink at 20% ABV, born out of Las Vegas hospitality in 2023. Here’s why it’s a must-pack:
- Cold, Caffeinated, and Convenient: Spark Plug delivers a bold kick of real Arabica coffee and six-times-distilled vodka in a sleek, chilled can—roughly 80 to 100mg of caffeine, about the same as a cup of coffee.
- No Mess, No Mixer Needed: A classic espresso martini is a small ceremony—pull a shot, chill your shaker, measure vodka and coffee liqueur, then shake hard enough to leave your hands numb. That’s wonderful at home and impossible on a dock. Just chill, shake, and pour.
- Nitro-Infused Foam: This is the detail that separates Spark Plug from anything else in the cooler. The nitrogen infusion—not CO2—is what builds a real, persistent crema when you pour over ice, the same silky cascade you’d see on a nitro cold brew. It’s a velvety finish that feels like you ordered it from a rooftop bar.
- Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free: Smooth and creamy without the lactose, and no gluten to worry about—so it fits more people at the party without a conversation.
- A Crowd-Pleaser: Perfect for pre-dinner sipping, late-night pick-me-ups, or that mid-afternoon rally moment. At 150 calories and 8g of sugar per 3.5oz serving—two servings per 200ml can—it’s an indulgence that stays on the right side of light.
It helps to know where the drink comes from. The espresso martini was invented in late-1980s London, the story goes, when a model asked a bartender for something that would “wake me up and mess me up.” It faded, then came roaring back over the last few years as coffee culture and cocktail culture finally collided. Spark Plug sits squarely in that revival—taking a drink that was always a bit of theater and giving it the one thing it never had: portability.
How to Serve It Right at the Lake or Poolside
A great espresso martini lives and dies by two things: temperature and foam. Get both right and you’ve got something that looks as good as it tastes. Start colder than you think you need to—bury the cans deep in the ice, not perched on top, and give them a good hour to settle in. The colder the can, the tighter the crema and the cleaner the coffee reads on your palate.
When you’re ready, give the can a gentle roll between your palms rather than a violent shake—you want to wake the nitrogen, not exhaust it. Fill a cup with fresh, hard ice (the big clear cubes melt slower and dilute less), and pour in one confident, steady stream from a few inches up. That height is what lets the nitrogen bloom into that tan, cascading head. Watch it settle into two layers: dark espresso below, pale crema on top. If you’re feeling it, a few chocolate-covered espresso beans floated on the foam is the classic garnish and costs you nothing but a moment.
Taste-wise, expect the bitter-sweet spine of real coffee up front, then the rounder notes doing quiet work underneath—cane sugar, Madagascar vanilla, and the clean warmth of the vodka. There are no synthetic sweeteners hiding in there, so the finish is short and dry instead of cloying. That dryness is exactly why it works in the heat: it refreshes rather than coats.
Spark Plug Cooler Pairing Ideas
Want to build the ultimate Memorial Day cooler? Coffee is a natural bridge to both salt and sweet, which makes Spark Plug one of the more food-friendly things you can bring. It plays well with:
- Savory Snacks: Think charcuterie cups, salty chips, or sliders. The bitterness of the coffee cuts through fat and salt the way an amaro would after dinner—a smoky burger or a sharp aged cheddar is a genuinely good match, not just a convenient one.
- Sweet Treats: Chocolate-covered espresso beans, brownies, or s’mores kits. Dark chocolate and coffee share the same roasted, slightly bitter DNA, so they amplify each other. This is your dessert-course drink—the reason you might skip the second cocktail and reach for Spark Plug instead.
- Other Essentials: Reusable cups, a mini ice scoop, cocktail napkins, and a Bluetooth speaker. Clear plastic cups show off the crema, which is half the fun of serving it.
One practical note for a long day outdoors: because each can carries a coffee-cup’s worth of caffeine along with the alcohol, it’s a drink to pace and enjoy, not to pound. Keep water in the cooler alongside it, especially in real heat. That’s not a knock—it’s the same common sense that makes any good afternoon last.
Where to Stock Up
Spark Plug is available online and at select retailers near you, so you can grab it before your long weekend plans kick off. Cans come in 200ml four-packs—a 4-pack runs $19.99, and the Party Pack (four four-packs) is $71.96, which is the move if you’re hosting. Online orders ship to 44 states through licensed retailers, with an adult signature and ID required on delivery, and there’s a two-pack minimum for delivery. If you’re in California, Nevada, New York, or New Jersey, you can also find four-packs on retail shelves. And if you’d rather have it poured for you, Spark Plug turns up at some of the best rooms in Las Vegas—LIV and LIV Beach, Hakkasan, OMNIA, Caesars Palace, and Marquee among them.
If you’re wondering whether a canned cocktail can really hold its own, the shelf answers for itself: Spark Plug took Best in Show RTD at the 2024 TAG Global Spirits Awards, Double Gold at the PR%F Awards, and Gold at the San Diego Spirits Festival, the 2025 Las Vegas Global Spirit Awards, and The Canned Challenge, plus a spot in BevNet’s 2024 RTD Guide. That’s a lot of hardware for something you can drink in a swimsuit.
Cheers to Summer Kickoff
This Memorial Day, bring a cooler full of memories waiting to happen. Spark Plug is the best canned cocktail to transition from sun-up brunches to sundown celebrations—the one drink that carries you across the whole arc of the day and hands you a second wind right when the light turns gold. So pop it in your cooler, raise a glass, and sip into summer like a pro.
Spark Plug: Your new go-to for every weekend that matters.