After-hours coffee
Due to the prevalence of coffee shops on our nation’s high-street, the drink is typically associated with cappuccinos, lattes and, when the weather is nice, cold brews. However there is a trend that has been bubbling under the surface and that is the rise of the coffee cocktail.
At the moment the roles of the barista and the bartender have become intertwined somewhat. Due to the prominence of craft coffees, speciality beans and third-wave techniques, there’s now an added amount of theatre and ingenuity within the industry that, at one point, bartenders solely operated within. It’s only a matter of time before coffee cocktails are the go-to choice of drink after-hours.
Of course, mixing coffee with spirits is nothing new. Lest we forget that drinks like the Carajillo, der Pharisaer and, the one that immediately springs to mind, Irish Coffee have all been around for decades if not centuries. But while those may be difficult to perfect, they follow simple recipes. The new wave is a little more complex.
So to help you out, we have compiled a few of our favourites. Hopefully John Sheridan would have given these his seal of approval.
Coffee Caipirinha
We came across this and given that we’re still suffering from a post-World Cup hangover we thought we’d lead with this. Coffee and the caipirinha are intrinsically linked to Brazilian culture and identity, so it was only a matter of time for those to be created.
Devised, as far as we know, by Houston’s David Buehrer, this recipe calls for coffee beans to be infused in the Cachaca, the spirit which forms the base of the cocktail. Then it’s business as usual.
Ingredients
- 1 Lime, cut into quarters – or alternative fruit.
- 2 teaspoons of brown sugar
- 5cl/50ml Cachaça
- Crushed ice
Method
- Infuse fresh coffee beans with Cachaca, aim for 50g of coffee to every 750ml of spirit
- Place the lime and sugar in the glass
- Mash the ingredients together
- Fill with crushed ice
- Pour over the infused Cachaca
Espresso Martini
Simple to make and an understated classic this is perfect for those who want a short, but need a kick and cheekily named drink!
Cheekily named drink you ask? Well, it doesn’t actually contain any Martini!
Ingredients
- 50ml Kahlua
- 25ml Vodka
- 1 espresso
Method
- Combine
- Shake
- Strain into a martini glass
Summer
Given the weather that we have been enjoying recently it seems only fair to include a cocktail that’s designed for these glorious summer days. On an initial reading of the ingredients a few might catch you by surprise (blackberries, really?) but think about the qualities we look for in a coffee alongside those darker notes. One sip and it all makes sense.
Ingredients
- Espresso – preferably made from beans which have fruity qualities
- 25ml Gin
- Blackberries
- 25ml Orange juice
- Melted sugar (mix a tiny bit of hot water with sugar to achieve a syrup)
Method
- Crush the blackberries into a cocktail shaker
- Pour in the remaining ingredients
- Shake
- Strain into an ice-filled glass
Irish Coffee
We couldn’t go without mentioning this classic. Created by John Sheridan at Foynes Airport and popularised by the writer Stanton Delaplane, Irish Coffee has stood the test of time.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup of freshly brewed coffee
- 1 tsp Brown sugar
- 1 shot of Irish whiskey
- Heavy cream, whipped by hand.
Method
- Pour the coffee into a mug/glass, until it is ¾ full.
- Add the brown sugar and stir
- Blend in the whiskey
- Top with the cream, pouring gently over the back of a spoon
By Rama (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.0-fr], via Wikimedia Commons