Fashion Guru Nigel Barker 'Never Thought' He'd Be Launching Ready-to-Serve Premium Espresso Martinis: 'It's Been Really Fun'

For two years, Nigel Barker has had to keep quiet about what he's been working on — and now he's finally able to tell the world about it!

The fashion guru is combining forces with veteran spirits aficionado Philippe Roederer as they're launching ready-to-serve Premium Espresso Martinis and First-to-Market Cappuccino Martinis. "I never ever thought I'd be working in the spirits industry. I've never put my name on anything. This is the first time I've put my name on something, and people have asked me, 'This is a big thing. There's no getting away from it now!' It's been really fun, though. I've written books, but this is different," the 52-year-old exclusively tells OK! ahead of the big launch.

It all started in the pandemic when Barker, who was a judge on America's Next Top Model for 17 seasons, started a podcast called "Shaken and Stirred," which was essentially an "interview cocktail show," he shares. "Everyone was drinking cocktails at the time. I thought I'd turn it into an actual business! We ended up doing 130 episodes, and it turned into a big thing. We would talk to people about their favorite cocktails, what they liked, what they didn't like, and we would do taste tests. It was obvious that espresso martinis were becoming very, very popular. All of our female guests were asking about them. It's a great cocktail in a bar, but it's a hard cocktail to find as a RTD [ready-to-drink] product. It made me think, 'Why is it so difficult?' A buddy of mine called Philippe, who is an absolute legend in the industry, and I said, 'Do you think this is possible?' And he's like, 'Why not, Nigel?'"

The two ended up joining forces to create the most perfect RTD espresso martini. "For the next six months, we ran around every great bar in New York, speaking to mixologists, having the drink at every place and trying to find what we thought was the best one possible," he recalls. "We came up with our favorites and tried to figure out how to make it and batch it. It was incredibly difficult. We thought at one point we couldn't do it. I didn't want to release anything that wasn't great, but we finally cracked it," he says. "We wanted to create something that was not too sweet and not too bitter. We ended up with this beautiful bottle we created, and it tastes fantastic!"

The reality star even got the seal of approval from the guy who works at the Newbury Hotel in Boston, which was awarded the best espresso martini in Boston by the New York Times. "He didn't want to try it at all. He was like, 'I'm a cocktail expert. I'm not going to try yours in a bottle!' In the end, I made it for him. He smelled it, tasted it, put it down and said, 'OK, I'm actually mistaken. This is the best espresso martini I've ever tasted out of a bottle or can.' He then said it was the best RTD cocktail of any kind he's ever tasted. It's exciting!" he exclaims of the cocktail, which was born in London. "We are launching in eight states, with New York being our main one, especially with New York Fashion Week happening. We're launching with Kelly Cutrone, my old friend from ANTM."

Since the drink is especially popular with the ladies, Cristen was able to taste test quite a bit. "The room was stacked! It looked like a pharmacy with all of the bottles on the table. The two of us would try out different concoctions, and my daughter would look at me and go, 'Are you drinking again? It's noon.' We'd be like, 'We're just sampling! It's not drinking!' It was a really funny process," he admits. "It's a hard problem, but a good problem to have!"

While Naomi Campbell has yet to try Nigel's product, he's excited to get it in front of the New York Fashion Week crowd. "We have this party coming up, and Jay Manuel said he will be there and J. Alexander," he says of his former ANTM coworkers. "It'll be sweet for them to come out and support me."

Ultimately, Nigel doesn't want to be "taken too seriously."

"I'm a photographer who's gone into making alcohol, but I've done it because I like it — not because I'm an expert! Maybe I'm an expert in this particular cocktail because I've spent so much time with it, but I don't pretend to be anything other than a normal guy who likes a good drink and decided to try it and make the best one he could. That's kind of what we've done," he says. "My name is written out on the bottle because I thought my kids could get involved in the business one day. We could create something special. I feel like I'm having another baby!"

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The all-new Espresso and Cappuccino Martinis are rolling out nationally and will be available in New York, Texas, Georgia, and Massachusetts in September, followed by Colorado, Michigan, and Tennessee in October. In addition to the 200ML canned Espresso and Cappuccino Martinis (SRP $4.99), the cocktails are also available in two large size formats: 375ML (SRP: $15.99) & 700ML (SRP $27.99). The Espresso Martini is also available in a 1.75L size (SRP $45.99) for a martini on tap experience.

Nigel's trusted team Day of The Week created the new brand’s overall design and are heading up the marketing and creative led by the star, helping to give the Espresso Martini the fashionable twist it needed.

For more information on The Barker Company’s Espresso and Cappuccino Martinis, including where to purchase the new line, visit Barkermartinis.com or follow along @thebarkerco.