At Cooper’s Cask Coffee, we believe that every version of the single origin coffee we roast—including our barrel aged coffee—should stand on its own in your cup as delicious from the first sip.
We usually drink it black so that we can enjoy the complex flavor notes of the coffee, and the flavors infused into beans that are barrel aged.
However, our staff also knows that our gourmet coffees—from single origin to barrel aged—make a great base for amazing coffee cocktails. So, we canvassed the crew and came up with this top 5 list of favorite recipes, which have been thoroughly vetted, deliciously analyzed, and scrumptiously tested. Enjoy!
Irish Coffee
Ingredients
- 1 jigger Irish whiskey
- 2 teaspoons sugar, brown sugar, or to taste
- 6 to 8 ounces fresh brewed coffee
- Heavy cream to top
First, brew your coffee so that it’s ready. For an Irish coffee drink, we recommend:
- Rwanda Single Origin Medium Roast. The taste profile of rich caramel, brown sugar, honeyed sweetness, and ginger snap compliments the sweetness of the Irish coffee.
- Single Malt Whiskey Barrel Aged Coffee. This bold brew intensifies the whiskey flavor while adding roundess with woody earth, tobacco, and hints of fruit, vanilla, and caramel.
Start with a regular or footed mug that can hold up to 10 ounces of liquid. We recommend you fill the mug with hot water to pre-heat it for this tasty crowd-pleaser. Once the mug is warmed, empty out the hot water.
Next, add the brown sugar, then pour in the coffee and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Only fill the mug to about 3/4’s full, so that you’ll have room for the next two ingredients.
Add the jigger of your favorite Irish whiskey and stir it in. If you wish to keep the drink as hot as possible,you can rest the filled jigger of Irish whiskey in a shallow bowl of hot water to preheat it. Don’t boil or microwave the whiskey, because that can remove the alcohol, which is part of the pleasure of this cocktail.
For the final step, add the heavy cream in one of two ways:
- Lightly whipped. This will stiffen the cream and make it easier to spoon on top for that beautiful “head.”
- Floating the cream. This is a bartending technique where you turn a spoon over (they have special ones designed to do this) and very slowly pour cream over the spoon. This keeps the incoming cream from piercing into the deeper parts of the drink, creating a nice white layer on the top.
Some people sprinkle a kiss of cinnamon or nutmeg on the creamy head, but we love our Irish coffee without it. Sláinte!
Related: would you recognize our barrel aged coffee flavor profiles?
Mexican Coffee
Not to be outdone by coffee cocktails from across the pond, our staff also loves a Mexican coffee cocktail, in both the easy version, and the show-off-your-gourmet-skills version. In either case, keep a good quality ground cinnamon and maybe a cinnamon stick handy for garnish.
Recommended coffee to brew ahead of time:
- Thomas Tew Rum Barrel Aged Coffee. The tasting notes of caramelized sugar red raisins, cocoa, spices, vanilla and oak raise the bar on the spirited flavors.
- Espresso Cremoso. This medium-dark roast from Brazil ensures the coffee flavor isn’t overshadowed by the delicious additions. On its own, our Espresso Cremoso adds creamy overtones with hints of brown sugar, black cherry, and sweet orange.
The Easy Mexican Coffee Version
Ingredients
- 1 shot coffee-flavored liqueur (think Kahlua®, or for a truly spicier version- Galliano® Ristretto)
- .5 shot dark tequila
- 5 ounces hot coffee
- 2 tablespoons whipped cream
In a regular or footed mug that can hold up to 8 ounces or more, add the coffee, then the liqueur and tequila. Mix, then top with the whipped cream. Of course you can add more if this cocktail wants to multitask as a dessert. Sprinkle gently with ground cinnamon, plunge the cinnamon stick into it (if desired), and enjoy!
The Gourmet Mexican Coffee Version
Mexican coffee can refer to a coffee cocktails and to a specific style of coffee. In this version you create the coffee, then add the liqueur & liquor to kick it up into cocktail territory.
Coffee Ingredients:
- 32 ounces water
- 4 to 5 tablespoons Cooper’s Cask Coffee (ground)
- 3 ounces of piloncillo (raw, pure cane sugar). We recommend the oscuro version of piloncillo, which is darker and imbues more flavor. If you can’t find this, use a high quality dark brown sugar.
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise (optional)
- 1 small orange peel (optional)
- 3 cloves (optional)
In a medium saucepan, add all the ingredients except the coffee, and heat to a gentle boil, dissolving the piloncillo completely as it heats. Be sure to stir frequently so that any lumps of the cane sugar get broken down.
After you’ve dissolved the piloncillo, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the ground coffee. Cover the pot with a lid and let it stand for 5 to 6 minutes. After that, strain the coffee into a carafe for the next step.
Note: this coffee tastes amazing as is! You can also use any, or none, of the last 3 optional ingredients (star anise, orange peel, cloves) to your liking in the brewing process.
Finishing the Gourmet Mexican Coffee
Finally, add the Kahlua and tequila as outlined above in the easy version, with whipped cream to top the drink, or our preference—heavy cream floated on top. With this gourmet version of Mexican coffee, you don’t really need the powdered cinnamon & cinnamon stick garnishes, because the cinnamon is already brewed into the coffee itself.
Espresso Martini
This favorite among coffee cocktails adds rich flavor to the refined martini presentation. It’s got a vodka base, with sweet and bold additions for a great after-dinner cocktail.
Ingredients
- Shot of vodka (2 if you like it stronger)
- .5 ounce coffee liqueur
- 1 serving of espresso (1 to 2 ounces)
- .5 ounce simple syrup (optional)
- Ice
- Cocktail shaker with a strainer
- 3 coffee beans or a couple of mint leaves (optional)
- Martini glass
First, brew your espresso. We recommend using these Cooper’s Cask Coffee choices:
- Espresso Cremoso. Our Espresso Cremoso adds creamy overtones with hints of brown sugar, black cherry, and sweet orange. This pairs amazingly with the coffee liqueur and vodka in this cocktail.
- Sumatra Dark Roast. Available in an espresso grind, our Sumatra Dark Roast excels in coffee presence. Its flavor profile includes woody cedar, dark chocolate, slight dark stone fruits and a hint of raw tobacco.
You will need to let your espresso cool for a bit, so you might pour it out of the cup into a small bowl, so that there’s more surface exposed and a better ability to cool.
Next, add ice to a shaker, and then pour in the vodka, coffee liqueur, and the cooled (or at least not piping hot) espresso. You can also add the simple syrup if you like a sweeter cocktail, but we were split about 50-50 on those who liked it sweeter, and those who liked it bolder.
Shake the cocktail until cold all the way through (10 to 15 seconds), and then strain into a martini glass. You can finish it with 3 coffee beans floated on the top, or a couple of mint leaves. Or don’t decorate it at all, and enjoy its beauty as is.
Related topic: how we make our barrel aged coffee.
Real Coffee Old Fashioned
We’ve added the word “real” to the name because some coffee old fashioned cocktail recipes don’t actually add coffee, but rather just a larger amount of coffee liqueur.
You should have heard us scoff in the test kitchen. No real coffee? That’s a negative Ghost Rider. We brew, bro.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces bourbon whiskey
- .5 ounce crème de cacao
- 1 to 2 ounces chilled espresso
- 1.5 teaspoons simple syrup (optional)
- 2 or 3 dashes of orange bitters
- 1 dash angostura bitters
- Orange peel
- Ice, including—if available—a large cube/ball of ice
- Mixing glass and a strainer
- Old fashioned glass
Make the espresso ahead of time, so that it has plenty of time to cool. Our recommended Cooper’s Cask Coffee choices include:
- Thomas Tew Rum Barrel Aged Coffee. The tasting notes of caramelized sugar red raisins, cocoa, spices, vanilla and oak nicely compliment orange bitters and the bourbon.
- Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged Coffee. Brewed as an espresso, the process magnifies the bright and clean flavor notes of peach jam and strawberries, touch of sweetness of red raw honey and dutch chocolate, with a slight acidic spice.
In the mixing glass, add ice, and then the bourbon, crème de cacao, bitters, and chilled espresso. You can also add the simple syrup, if you like your real coffee old fashioned on the sweeter side. It might be a nice addition if you use 2 ounces of espresso instead of one.
Once the ingredients are added to the mixing glass, stir until well mixed and chilled, then strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube or ball. Twist the orange peel to release the oils, rub around the rim of the glass, and add to the drink as a garnish—which also releases any remaining citrus zest into the cocktail.
Wide-Awake White Russian
Here’s one of our coffee cocktails that works great after dinner, or at the pool party. Or any day ending in the letters d-a-y. You decide.
Adding actual coffee instead of just coffee liqueur gives it a deeper, richer flavor, plus a boost!
For measurements, the wide-awake white Russian is mixed in parts rather than in ounces, so you can make a cocktail as easily for 1 as you can for 10. #mathishard #cocktailisgood
Ingredients
- 1 part coffee liqueur
- 1 part vodka
- 1 part cold brew coffee (or chilled coffee)
- 1 part heavy cream
- Ground cinnamon (optional rim garnish)
- Simple syrup to taste (optional)
- Cocktail shaker & strainer
- Old fashioned glass
For the coffee, we recommend a choice of our cold brew, or brewing the coffee an hour or so beforehand and cooling it. These two choices work great:
- Guatemala Smooth and Sweet Cold Brew. A well balanced medium roast coffee delivering a smooth and sweet profile with hints of milk chocolate, creamy caramel and a kiss of orange.
- Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Aged Coffee. Provides a rustic sweetness with a hint of cocoa and dark fruit notes with a bourbon finish, for a more dynamic liquor flavoring.
In the cocktail shaker, add ice, the coffee liqueur, vodka, coffee, and optional simple syrup. Cover, shake until mixed and chilled, then strain into the old fashioned glass over ice.
Using a spoon, float the cream on the top for that lovely contrast of dark and light. Some of the cream might curl down into the darker , which is just part of the beauty. When you’re ready, stir it and enjoy!
Note: one of the staff showed us this, which was not canon—but was truly tasty! She took the old fashioned glass, made sure it was dry, and then carefully wet the rim. Next, she gently sprinkled ground cinnamon on the rim, dumping out any extra that got in the glass.
This rim treatment adds a lovely spice to the coffee cocktail’s experience without invading the rest of the drink.
What do you think of our coffee cocktails?
We’ve earned 7000 4 and 5 star reviews on Amazon, and would love to hear back from you if you tried one of our favorite coffee cocktails. Hit us up today, and let us know about your experience. You could even—and we’re hinting hard here—share your favorite recipe with us!
Coffee people enjoy good conversations over good cups of coffee—and over coffee cocktails. So what’s brewing with you?
Remember, Cooper’s Cask Coffee always offers a 100% money back guarantee. Simply ask for a refund or to try another of our coffee choices at no charge (shipping included!).
Let’s toast to the roast! Small batch, big satisfaction. Cooper’s Cask Coffee.
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