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59 OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015 Why would anyone reach for booze augmented with a nasty energy drink when nature’s perfect booster – coee – tastes so much better? Coee and espresso, both in their natural forms and as liqueurs and bitters, lend natural sturdiness that easily balances spirits, milk, cream, syrups and other ingredients. Sweetened and spiked hot coee is the simplest, oldest and probably most beloved kind of coee cocktail – think of Irish coee at the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco – but a new genre of more complex versions exists. Because many bartenders love coee as much as spirits, it was only a matter of time before the two would meet in the same glass. Here’s a look at some of the caf- feinated cocktails currently available around town. Boozy Boosters Cocktails with Coffee by Phaedra Cook PHOTO BY PHAEDRA COOK 59 OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2015

Boozy Boosters

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Why would anyone reach for booze augmented with a nasty energy drink when nature’s perfect booster – coffee – tastes so much better? Coffee and espresso, both in their natural forms and as liqueurs and bitters, lend natural sturdiness that easily balances spirits, milk, cream, syrups and other ingredients.

Sweetened and spiked hot coffee is the simplest, oldest and probably most beloved kind of coffee cocktail – think of Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco – but a new genre of more complex versions exists. Because many bartenders love coffee as much as spirits, it was only a matter of time before the two would meet in the same glass.

Here’s a look at some of the caf-feinated cocktails currently available around town.

Boozy BoostersCocktails

with Coffee

by Phaedra Cook

PHOTO BY PHAEDRA COOK

59O C T O B E R – N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5

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WHERE DOUBLE TROUBLE CAFFEINE & COCKTAILSSAMPLED KON TIKI COOLERCOFFEE SOURCE GREENWAY COFFEE COMPANYIt stands to reason that a place with “Caffeine & Cocktails” in its name would combine the two, and Double Trouble has a wide selection of hot and cold caffeinated cocktails. The island-inspired Kon Tiki Cooler is made with Cruzan coconut rum, “Faux-Lua” (house-made coffee liqueur), cream, La Croix coconut sparkling water and, of course, coffee. Double Trouble uses strong, cold-brewed coffee to ensure the flavor isn’t too diluted by the ice and other ingredients.

In addition to several cold selections, Double Trouble has a slate of hot coffee drinks, too, including Irish Coffee (with Irish whiskey and Irish crème), Kentucky Coffee (with bourbon and Frangelico), Jamaican Coffee (with rum and faux-lua) and Oaxacan Coffee (with mezcal and crème de cacao). All are topped with whipped cream, nutmeg and cinnamon.

WHERE THE HONEYMOONSAMPLED COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER and IRISH COFFEECOFFEE SOURCE BOOMTOWN COFFEELike Double Trouble, The Honeymoon is combination coffee shop and bar (plus they also serve food). They offer a number of creative cold and hot coffee-infused cocktails.

The Coal Miner’s Daughter is essen-tially a coffee-spiked iced toddy and contains bourbon, lemon and honey. It goes down so easily that it’s not hard to believe it might cure whatever ails you.

Among the other cold coffee cocktails at The Honeymoon are Leather Elbows (with rye, iced coffee and sweetened condensed milk) and cold Cafe du Monde (with Cognac, chicory iced coffee, Zucca amaro and simple syrup).

On the hot side is a classic Irish coffee (photo on page 59) spiked with Tullamore Dew whiskey and topped with whipped cream and a few roast-ed coffee beans, which are pleasant to

crunch on. And herbal green Chartreuse is a match made in heaven when com-bined with the earthier notes of choco-late in another warm coffee drink called Idle Hands.

WHERE HUGO’SSAMPLED EL CERRADORCOFFEE SOURCE AMAYA ROASTING COMPANYCitrus and coffee are complementary flavors, and at Hugo’s these are married in a light libation called El Cerrador. Sotol reposado, which is aged in new white oak barrels, is combined with Cuarenta y Tres. The latter, also known as Licor 43, contributes not only a gold-en color, but also notes of vanilla, fruit and botanicals. Kumquat soda enhances the citrus and lightens the drink with its effervescence.

Drinking the El Cerrador is a much more gentle experience than drinking a cup of coffee, but the coffee is certainly there. A few coffee beans, citrus peel and fresh kumquat slices serve as garnish and mirror the drink’s flavors.

WHERE LEI LOWSAMPLED BALI HEIGHTS and LEI LOW COFFEE GROGCOFFEE SOURCE BOOMTOWN COFFEETiki drinks usually conjure up rum and fruit juice, not coffee. However, tiki bar Lei Low offers several coffee creations, which got us wondering if that was unusual. We contacted noted tiki expert Jeff “Beachbum” Berry to find out.

It turns out that coffee in tiki drinks is a longstanding tradition that dates back to the 1930s. Berry had this to say via email:

“Don The Beachcomber made the first coffee tiki drink, the Jamoca, circa 1937. In 1956, Mariano Licudine created the Black Magic and the Mutiny for The Mai-Kai Polynesian Restau-rant, both coffee tiki drinks. Today those are that restaurant’s signature cocktails.

“In 2006 I created the Espres-so Bongo, a coffee tiki drink, which is on the menu of my New

the KON TIKI COOLER

CRUZAN COCONUT

RUM

HOUSE-MADE COFFEE LIQUEUR

(OR KAHLÚA)

CREAM

LA CROIX COCONUT SPARKLING WATER

COLD-BREW COFFEE

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DOUBLE TROUBLE’SKON TIKI COOLER

HUGO’S EL CERRADOR

THE HONEYMOON’SCOAL MINER’S DAUGHTER

LEI LOW’S BALI HEIGHTS

LEI LOW’S LEI LOW COFFEE GROG

PHOTO BY CHUCK COOK PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO BY CHUCK COOK PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO BY CHUCK COOK PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO BY PHAEDRA COOK

PHOTO BY PHAEDRA COOK