A do-it-yourself guide to the world’s favourite new food trend: The coffee cocktail

Every now and again a food or drink will capture our collective imagination and become the it-consumable of its time. Last year, everyone was going nuts for the questionably healthy mate latte – a hot milky take on the South American Yerba Mate infused drink – and this year the coffee cocktail is coming into its own.

Although variations on the coffee cocktail like Pharisäer (German coffee with rum) and Fiaker (coffee with Austrian rum) were served in Viennese coffee houses as early as the mid-nineteenth century the combo of caffeine and booze really kicked off in the 1940s when a County Limerick head chef Joe Sheridan served a bunch of Americans a coffee with a shot of whiskey to warm their bones. The Irish Coffee was born.

The idea exported well all over the world and recent years have seen a rise in the Espresso Martini – a stimulating blend of vodka, coffee liqueur and a chilled espresso – which, according to the connoisseur’s cocktail bible Difford’s Guide, was invented in 1983 by Dick Bradsell at the Soho Brasserie, London, for a customer who asked for a drink to “wake her up and f–k her up.”

Now, as artisanal coffee culture reaches an all-time high – with independent retailers pushing blends in all kinds of interesting directions – it only makes sense that the alcoffeecol revolution is following suit.

Tia Maria, a key ingredient of the aforementioned Espresso Martini, is leading the charge with its Tia Maria + Coffee Project – showcasing interesting new takes on the coffee cocktail. Here are some of our favourites that you can try at home.

Tia Maria Mint Americano
Tia Maria + Espresso + Sugar Syrup + Mint Leaves + Sparkling Water

Iced Popcorn Frappe
Tia Maria + Milk + Espresso + Popcorn Syrup

Flat White Russian
Jamaican Rum + Tia Maria + Espresso + Demerara Sugar + Milk

Tia Maria Cappucino
Tia Maria + Vodka + Espresso + Morrello Cherry or Salted Caramel Foam

For more coffee cocktails take a look at the Tia Maria website.

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