Drinks Made With Coffee Diverse and Entertaining

Tonight being a Friday it seemed like a good occasion to write on a perhaps more decadent coffee theme: flavoured and alcoholic coffee drinks.

For some, flavoured coffee is a popular choice; for others it is a more acquired taste. Traditional varieties tend to work best for the neophyte: Flavours like vanilla, hazlenut or a good Irish Cream. But there also other flavours that can be had, like blueberry, rum raisin, or candy apple.

You may ask about how they get the flavours into the coffee beans. The process usually involves treating the freshly roasted beans with chemical flavourings that sometimes come from natural sources. There are some that say that because these beans are being treated with chemicals anyway (not an especially attractive feature) it is often the case that inferior beans are being used. (Whether this is true in all cases is a question that we cannot answer here.)

With that in mind let us turn to a more straightforward discussion of alcoholic drinks that are made with coffee. I found a fair number of drinks that fit this category. They range from Almond Coffee Cream to Black Gold to Cafe Nero.

In the case of Black Gold you will need five different spirits to make this drink. It is considered sweet with a nutty taste, thanks to the Amaretto and hazelnut liquor. Below is a list of the relevant ingredients:

• Four ounces of freshly brewed coffee, hot
• One quarter ounce of Triple Sec
• One quarter ounce of Amaretto
• One quarter ounce of hazlenut liqueur
• A dash of cinnamon Schnapps

Stir all the above ingredients and serve in a mug with whipped cream.

An even more dramatic drink is the famous Cafe Brulot. To make this drink you will need the following ingredients: One cup of brandy, three tablespoons of sugar, one teaspoon grated orange peel, a half of a teaspoon of grated lemon peel, six whole cloves whole allspice, one cinnamon stick, one teaspoon vanilla extract, and three cups double-strength coffee.

Have ready an heatproof serving bowl. Heat the brandy, sugar, orange and lemon peel, cloves, cinnamon stick and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Do not boil.

When brandy mixture is hot, pour it into the heatproof serving bowl. Darken the room, and carefully ignite the brandy mixture (or if you prefer, you can use a metal ladling spoon containing the burning mixture and insert that into the bowl). Let the brandy burn for sixty seconds and slowly pour the hot coffee into the mixture, stirring afterwards.

And remember, if anyone has had memorable experiences with alcoholic or flavoured drinks, be sure to drop a line and let me know. Enjoy!