Mixologists are building buzz with tasteful coffee cocktails that blend the best of alcoholic and caffeinated quaffs. It’s a marriage that makes sense: Handcrafted cocktails have been popular for some time, and interest in premium coffee is reaching peak levels. Around the country, establishments are pushing the boundaries of coffee cocktails:
Kobrick Coffee Co. has a long history as a coffee roaster, founded in 1920, in New York City. Today, alongside cups of joe, bartenders serve up coffee cocktails. Two standouts are the Mexican Jumping Bean, with espresso, tequila and flavored liqueur, and the Three Hour Kyoto Negroni, which pours the traditional gin, Campari and vermouth trifecta over Kenyan coffee.
The Martini Room in Elgin, Ill., offers a nod to classic coffee-flavored liqueurs with its coffee cocktails. The bar’s espresso martini includes espresso-flavored vodka, Bailey’s, Kahlua and cream, with chocolate-covered espresso beans nestled at the bottom of the glass and a sprinkling of coffee powder to top it off.
Pinewood Social, an eatertainment concept in Nashville, Tenn., served coffee roasted by local outfit Crema, so coffee cocktails were a natural fit. The result: a Southern Limerick cocktail that includes rye, Meletti liqueur, coffee and cream.