There are a lot of different types of spirits that you can order on the regs at your local, or add to the trolley on a weekly shop - a good whiskey, a nice tequila, maybe even a rum or a vodka. Whatever your tipple of choice is. However, we’d bet money that no one’s answering the question of ‘anything from the shops?’ with the answer ‘a good coffee liqueur please.’
But... maybe you should?
For anyone who considers themselves an average or even just enthusiastic at-home mixologist, a good coffee liqueur is essential to cracking those delicious Espresso Martinis. Even if you’re not fussed about mastering a bit of mixology, we’d still argue that a good coffee liqueur is exactly what your drinks cupboard is missing. Always find yourself having people round? A coffee liqueur is your new best friend.
Aside from being a crucial (and cheat’s) ingredient in an easy Espresso Martini, they’re great for making a Baby Guinness (imagine casually whipping that one out on St Paddy’s Day), and if you’re a bit of a Bake Off fiend, you’ll want one to seriously level up your cooking (okay, baking) game.
And sure, there aren’t as many of them on the market as navigating your way through the mind-bogglingly confusing world of whisky, but knowing which bottles are worth your buck is still useful. Here are three easy tricks (and bottles!) to keep in your back pocket. Well, maybe not the bottles in your pocket, but you get the idea!
1. Pick your bottle carefully
There are a couple of cracking types of coffee liqueurs that always deliver. Unlike whiskey and tequila, where they experiment with different ageing processes and woods, the process of making coffee liqueurs is pretty standard across the board. Where they get creative is the choice of beans and the coffee’s brewing method.
There are a couple of newer offerings on the market from small batch brewers competing against your classics like Kahluas and your Tia Marias. Unlike tequilas and gins, where you can get some great supermarket dupes, none of the own-brand coffee liqueurs have ever quite matched up to the speciality ones.
Our go-to is Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur; it’s a perfect blend of strength and sweetness. It’s more bitter than most others out there (what has it been through?!), but this makes it the perfect option for an at-home martini. All you need is some coffee (espresso), some simple syrup (we use agave syrup), and ice to shake up a delicious cocktail. With a lot of liqueurs, they can be overly sweetened, and the tang of strong, rich coffee is lost against the vodka; this one, however, is the perfect balance.
New kid on the block, Brunette, is a serious competitor. It’s a new organic cold brew coffee liqueur from France and is the world’s first certified organic coffee liqueur. It’s made using the finest sustainable seasonal beans from world-class plantations and producers, with zero additives or colourings. Plus, it contains less sugar than any other coffee liqueur on the market. Basically, if you could classify any coffee liqueur as healthy, this would be the one. It’s the house coffee liqueur you’ll find in a lot of top London bars.
It’s a little bit stronger than Mr Black’s at 25% ABV. This is a classy coffee liqueur which is best served neat or as a three-ingredient cocktail. It’s premium enough that you won’t want to drown out the flavour by adding lots to it, and it’s a little sweeter than your standard offerings, so you can just mix it up with a drop of fresh coffee and ice, and you’ll have a pretty good cocktail.
2. Skip the standard Baileys, but add in a dash of Chocolate Baileys for a mocha-stye martini
Bailey’s Espresso Creme is definitely not on our list of best liqueurs, but the Baileys Chocolat Luxe Liqueur definitely is. When you see something like ‘Creamy Mocha Martini’ or ‘Tirimasu Martini’ on a menu, it’s easy to feel like you could never replicate that at home. But, thanks to this genius invention from Baileys, it’s really easy to make an incredibly indulgent and decadent twist on the classic without anything more than adding an extra ingredient.
Also, if you’re making a Baby Guinness (which by the way, you just need (¾) coffee liqueur and (¼) Irish Cream to make), then why not swap out your regular Baileys Irish Creme for Chocolate Baileys? Choccie Baby Guinness? Um, yes, please (you can probably guess that we're always the ones hosting).
3. It's not just for cocktails
Look, hand on heart, cocktails are the best use of coffee liqueurs (in our opinion), but we’d be lying if we said it was the only use. Whether you’re a baker or a cook, this is a surprisingly versatile ingredient to have as a store-cupboard secret weapon. If you want to add a bit of depth to a gravy, spruce up a sauce, seriously elevate a coffee and walnut cake (pop off Mary Berry), then look no further.
Coffee liqueurs may not feel like the trendiest or most common tipple to whip out on a Friday night, but you’ll probably be surprised by how much use you can get out of it. If you’re looking to build up your bar cart basics, then we’d definitely recommend trying out one of these two bottles.
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