A cold rum and coffee cocktail with two kinds of creme de cacao and a dust of cinnamon. Shaken over ice rather than served hot — closer to an Espresso Martini's older cousin than to Irish coffee.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Bombarda Culverin or Drake
- 1/2 oz dark creme de cacao
- 1/2 oz white creme de cacao
- 2 oz brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature
- 1 oz heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Method of Attack:
- Combine the rum, both creme de cacaos, the cooled coffee and the cream in a shaker half-filled with ice.
- Shake well — longer than you think. The cream wants aerating.
- Strain into an Old Fashioned glass almost filled with ice cubes.
- Dust with cinnamon and serve.
About This Recipe:
Coffee and rum have been shipmates for as long as both have crossed the Atlantic — the same trade routes, often the same holds. A rambling sailor was one who signed aboard whatever was leaving next and took the voyage as it came.
Two kinds of creme de cacao is the detail that makes this work. The dark brings the chocolate, the white keeps it from turning heavy and syrupy. One without the other is a duller drink.
Why this rum:
Coffee is bitter and it should stay bitter — that bitterness is the spine of the drink. Two liqueurs and a measure of cream are already pulling sweet, so a rum carrying added sugar on top of that flattens the coffee completely.
Culverin is dry and peppery and keeps the edge on it. Drake is darker and more molasses-forward, which meets the chocolate. Neither carries added sugar, caramel colorant or chill filtration.
Battle Notes:
Cool the coffee to room temperature before it goes anywhere near the shaker. Hot coffee melts the ice on contact and you end up with a watery drink and split cream.
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