The internal alarm clock of my toddler is set and there is no snooze button.
It's 5:30 am, there is only one hope and that is coffee.
Dear delicious coffee,
Thank you.
I am a regular coffee drinker. I own a mini brewer that produces a two cup pot. I drink one of these each morning and that's it. I buy inexpensive pre-ground coffee, and I use honey and half and half. Cheap, no fuss, brewed at home drip coffee.
Have I just destroyed all of my fancy beverage credibility?
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| Not my pic but in my mind this is where I drink coffee in the morning. |
I might have to rethink my choice with these early mornings. Where I was once happily indulged and perky, I'm now bitter and still tired at the bottom of the pot. I do not want to go out into the cold at 5:30 am with my toddler to purchase a five dollar cup of something stronger. So, I have started brewing two pots, now I'm awake but antsy and I need to pee. My solution? I leave the second cup in the second pot but that leaves me with left over coffee and the need to relax.
Perhaps if I mixed the leftover coffee with just a little alcohol Then I'd be awake but not so edgy. Wait, there is the toddler, that's why I was up so early in the first place, I don't think mid morning drinking is the answer.
It might not be the answer for me but having leftover cold coffee hanging around everyday has to be good for something. There are plenty of other people who are not on toddler duty that want a little mix of coffee and spirits. I know so because when I began searching for flavour combinations and recipes I could not believe how many drinks there are that feature coffee or coffee flavoured liqueur.
So many sweet, syrupy combinations of cream and vanilla and chocolate and peppermint and orange and holy crow, what is up with the dessert drinks?
There is clearly something to the pattern. The bitterness and astringency of coffee pairs well with sweet and full flavoured ingredients. I don't have a problem with that, most of the recipes I found also had a touch of whimsy that I appreciated. I'm all for indulgence, but I still need balance in a drink and too much of a good thing is too much.
While trying to maintain the clearly desired elements of richness and fun, I wanted to create a recipe that blended coffee and alcohol in a more refined way. It really wasn't too far a stretch to dial back some of the sweetness and let the coffee flavour come forward. I'm still not sure I could drink more than one but it wouldn't have to be for dessert.
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| The coffee will foam when shaken. |
DST
1 1/2 oz room temp coffee
1 oz aged rum
1/2 oz Tia Maria
1/2 oz Licor 43
4-5 drops peppermint bitters
Method
Add all ingredients to shaker, fill 3/4 with ice. Shake for 20 seconds, strain into chilled glass.
Mint bitters help to lift up the other ingredients without adding any unnecessary sweetness. By foregoing cream we eliminate some of the heaviness usually found in coffee cocktails. The addition of a moderate amount of sweet liqueur, is then able to balance the coffee.
Do you drink coffee flavoured or dessert cocktails? Would you ever make your own at home? Let me know in the comments below.
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