Nothing old-fashioned about this coffee-based cocktail.
The struggle between choosing a latte or a cocktail at brunch is over. Mixologists from Montauk to Manhattan—and everywhere in between—are adding coffee to cocktails, creating delicious drinks with a bit of buzz. Read all about the coffee cocktail trend hitting Long Island and try your hand at making one of these five coffee cocktail recipes.
The Rum Diary
The Rum Diary created by Sail Away Coffee at Horace & Sylvia’s Publick House. Photo courtesy of Sail Away Coffee.
Spice up your brunch with this rum-based cocktail from Sail Away Coffee. The rumchata, whiskey and coffee combine to give a toasted cinnamon flavor that will have you wishing you were sitting on a beach.
What You’ll Need:
- 5 ounces Nitro Cold Brew
- 1 ounce Jack Fire
- 1/2 ounce Rumchata
How It’s Done:
- Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass.
- Pour all the ingredients into glass with ice and serve.
Architects & Kings
Photo courtesy of the I Forgot It’s Wednesday Supper Club.
Self-described coffee addict and mixologist of the I Forgot it’s Wednesday Supper Club, Matt Dorsey, began pairing coffee with spirits three years ago, and now has a handful of coffee cocktails he serves on a regular basis. This recipe for a rye, brandy and hot coffee cocktail is one of his favorites.
What you’ll need:
- ¾ ounce Rye
- ¾ ounce Luxardo Amaro Abano (Substitute: Ramazzotti Amaro)
- ¾ ounce Laird’s Bonded Apple Brandy (Substitute: Applejack—Bonded is eau de vie and has a more intense apple flavor; Applejack is mixed with neutral spirit for less intense apple)
- ½ ounce Demerara Syrup
- 2 dashes Aromatic Bitters
- 4 ounces Hot Coffee
How it’s done:
- Combine rye, amaro abano, applejack, syrup and bitters in small saucepan
and stir. - Heat until steaming, but don’t allow to boil.
- Heat serving glass by running under hot water and drying.
- Pour mixture into glass and add hot coffee.
Tam o’ Shanter
Photo courtesy of Vaucluse.
Ashley Meehan, head bartender at the Upper East Side’s Vaucluse, started experimenting with cold coffee and lemon cocktails last summer as a way to create a refreshing “pick me up drink.” This spiced coffee flip takes the Penicillin cocktail to the Caribbean. You’ll notice notes of nut and chocolate from the cold brew while the lemon gives it a hint of acidity.
What you’ll need:
- 2 dashes Fever Tree Aromatic Bitters
- ¼ ounce Vanilla Syrup
- ½ ounce Ginger Puree (Perfect Puree’s Sweet Ginger)
- ½ ounce Cold-Brewed Coffee Demerara Syrup
- ¾ ounce Lemon
- 1 ounce Glenmorangie 10 Year Single Malt Scotch
- 1-½ ounce Flor de Cana 4 year Extra Seco Rum
How it’s done:
- Combine all ingredients in a 18/28 set.
- Dry shake until the egg yields a velvety froth.
- Add ice and shake again.
- Strain into a chilled Marie Antoinette Coupe.
The Cartel
Photo courtesy of The Rickey
Created by Johnny Swet, this coffee cocktail is a crowd favorite at New York City’s, The Rickey at Dream Midtown. Muddling the Colombian coffee beans gives the cocktail a lot of depth of flavor.
What you’ll need:
- 1.5 ounces Sailor Jerry Rum
- 1.5 ounces Fresh Pineapple Juice
- 0.25 ounce Agave
- 0.25 ounce Lime Juice
- 6 Colombian Coffee Beans
- Coconut Water Ice Cube
How it’s done:
- Muddle three of the Colombian coffee beans.
- Add rum, pineapple juice, agave and lime juice.
- Shake and fine-strain into rocks glass with the coconut water ice cube.
Watch Shawn Chen prepare a mezcal coffee cocktail
Waking Up in Oaxaca
Waking Up in Oaxaca is a rather adventurous cocktail. Created by Decoy Bar’s head bartender, Shawn Chen, it brings together two of Chen’s favorite things: coffee and Mezcal Creyente. The smoky mezcal brings out the flavor of the coffee for a cocktail that we have you feeling as if you’re having brunch in Mexico after a night out.
What you’ll need
- 1 ounce Creyente Mezcal
- .75 ounce Coffee Beans Infused-Cynar*
- .75 ounce Dolin Chambery Blanc
- .50 ounce Campari
- 3 drops of Coffee Tincture
How it’s done:
- Build in mixing glass.
- Pour all the ingredients into mixing glass and add ice.
- Stir vigorously until mixed thoroughly and the outside of the mixing glass has frosted.
- Use a strainer to strain over rock glass filled with 2 inches ice cube.
- Garnish with lemon herb and a twist of lemon.
*Coffee Beans-Infused Cynar:
- 1 cup of Dark Roasted Coffee Beans
- 1 cup of Cynar Artichoke Liqueur
- Use a medium-sized mason jar.
- Pour coffee beans and Cynar into the mason jar and seal the cover.
- Let it sit for 1 hour and strain into syrup bottle to store.
