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- At the 2025 Food & Wine Classic in Charleston, Ciara and chef Kwame Onwuachi showcased “Afro-Caribbean soul” with a rum-based spin on the Espresso Martini using Ten to One rum.
- Their Caribbean Coffee cocktail combined cold brew coffee liqueur, espresso, and demerara syrup for a rich, caramel-forward spin on the classic.
- The duo emphasized rum’s versatility in both drinks and cooking, highlighting Ten to One’s use in sauces and desserts at Onwuachi’s restaurants.
The Espresso Martini is one of the most popular cocktails worldwide, thanks to its rich yet balanced flavor profile. It’s typically made with a neutral vodka base, but Grammy Award-winning singer Ciara — the co-director of Ten to One Rum — puts her own spin on it.
At the 2025 Food & Wine Classic in Charleston, the cover star of our holiday entertaining issue teamed up with 2019 F&W Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi, chef of Tatiana in New York City and Dogon in Washington, D.C., for a seminar on “Afro-Caribbean soul.” Attendees were greeted with Caribbean Coffees, an Espresso Martini variation made with Ten to One dark rum, cold brew coffee liqueur, brewed espresso, and demerara syrup. The rich, caramel-forward version of the classic cocktail was a crowd favorite.
“We like to say that anything other spirits can do, rum can do better,” said Ciara. “I want people to reimagine rum, to see it in a way they haven’t before.”
“We have all the best things people associate with Espresso Martinis, but just a little bit more,” added Onwuachi, who also demonstrated how to make six dishes from the Afro-Caribbean diaspora, like curry goat empanadas with mango chutney.
Onwuachi shared that the kitchen at Tatiana employs Ten to One rum in its dishes. “We use it in our sauces, our desserts. It’s versatile.”
This isn’t the first time Onwuachi and Ciara have collaborated. The crowd learned that Onwuachi gave a cooking lesson to Ciara and Cardi B at his home, and that they nearly burned a turkey. (“That was on Cardi B, though,” quipped Ciara).
Ciara admitted to being nervous during the lesson. “We’re with a legendary chef, so we wanna have our stuff together. You step outside of your wheelhouse and your comfort zone and know you’re with someone who gets it and does it the best. It’s like, okay, get the mind right. You know?”
Still, she’s comfortable in a kitchen. “I definitely get really full when I’m cooking because my food is always so good.” She’s especially well-known for her mac and cheese, which she makes with Veleveeta, Muenster, a Mexican cheese blend, and Lawry’s seasoning (a staple in her pantry).
“We do the CiCi mac and cheese,” she said with a laugh. “I like that.”
