The marriage between coffee and alcohol is a match made in heaven. Coffee brings out the boozy notes of alcohol especially well, and most of these coffee-laden cocktails blend together quite easily. What are the types of alcoholic coffee drinks?
Here are the different types of alcoholic coffee drinks:
- Irish coffee
- Siciliano
- Nutty Irishman
- Kentucky coffee
- Espresso negroni
- Flaming Spanish coffee
- Spiked Mexican coffee
- Italian coffee
- Café Caribbean
- Café Brasileiro
- Café Royal
- Irish winter
Are you not entirely familiar with every alcoholic coffee beverage on the list above? You will be by the time you’re done reading. We’ll share explanations of each drink and a recipe so you can recreate it at home the next time you feel like jazzing up your cup of coffee!
The 12 Types of Coffee Cocktail Recipes
Irish Coffee
Let’s start with the classic, the Irish coffee. This beverage includes sugar, hot coffee, and Irish whiskey. After stirring, you’re supposed to add plenty of cream. To get the full depth of flavor, be sure to sip the beverage with the cream!
Here’s an Irish coffee recipe courtesy of Food Network. You need these ingredients:
Take a mug and fill it with hot water. You can also preheat the mug.
Add the coffee immediately after brewing it. Pour it carefully to avoid burning yourself!
Keep pouring the coffee until the mug is ¾ of the way full. Mix in the brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Then add the Irish whiskey.
To get the right consistency for the cream, pour the cream over a spoon turned curved side up.
Siciliano
When cold-brew coffee and Italian vermouth meet, the Siciliano results. This fancy cocktail is sure to liven up any nice meal you make at home. It’s also a great pick-me-up after a long week!
Per Bon Apetit’s recipe, here’s what you need to make a Siciliano:
- Orange wheel
- Club soda
- Simple syrup (1 ounce)
- Strong cold-brew coffee (1 ½ ounce)
- Amaro (1 ½ ounce)
- Italian sweet vermouth (2 ounces)
In a tumbler, combine the simple syrup, coffee, amaro, and vermouth. Add some ice and a dash of club soda. Then place the orange wheel on the rim of the glass and serve.
Nutty Irishman
Creamy, nutty, and oh so delicious, the Nutty Irishman is a great coffee cocktail to whip out around St. Patrick’s Day or anytime you want something smooth and delicious in your cocktail glass.
MyRecipes has a recipe that requires only these ingredients:
Yes, this is a two-ingredient recipe, so making the Nutty Irishman couldn’t be easier.
All you have to do is take a brandy glass and fill it midway with ice. Pour in the recommended quantities of the Irish cream and hazelnut liqueur, stir, and serve.
Kentucky Coffee
When dinner wraps up, it’s an excellent time to serve some Kentucky coffee. This spiked beverage is named after the southern state due to the inclusion of bourbon, a Kentucky staple.
That’s not the only type of booze used in Kentucky coffee. Honey liqueur livens up this beverage too and adds a much-needed bit of sweetness.
Here’s a recipe courtesy of The Spruce Eats. First, gather these ingredients:
- Whipped cream [optional]
- Hot coffee (6 ounces)
- Honey liqueur (1/2 ounce)
- Bourbon whiskey (1 ounce)
To make authentic Kentucky coffee, use an Irish coffee glass. Of course, if all you have is a coffee mug, that suffices too.
Preheat the glass or mug with hot water, then dry the glass. Add the bourbon first, then the honey liqueur.
After brewing coffee, carefully pour it in while it’s still piping hot. If you want whipped cream, fill the top of the glass with the sweet stuff.
Espresso Negroni
The Italian negroni is one of the most beloved cocktails. If you’re not familiar, the beverage requires Campari, vermouth rosso, and gin in equal measure. Then you add an orange peel for garnish.
Upgrade the basic negroni with espresso. The espresso negroni is sure to wake you up even if you’ve had a long day!
Feedfeed has an easy recipe for espresso negroni that you can make today if you have the ingredients. Here’s what the recipe requires:
In a cocktail shaker, pour all the ingredients at once. Add ice and shake thoroughly. Then strain the beverage into your favorite glass or mug and serve.
Flaming Spanish Coffee
Spanish coffee has as many variations as the day is long, but flaming Spanish coffee certainly stands out among them.
For one, this version contains alcohol. Second, you have to light it on fire before serving. What, you didn’t think the flaming Spanish coffee was nicknamed that because it was spicy, did you?
Obviously, if you’re going to attempt to recreate this beverage at home among friends, you want to take some precautions. Keep pets and children away from the bar or kitchen. Only ignite the beverage in an area where flammable items are not in the vicinity.
You shouldn’t wear anything flammable on your head, body, hands, or feet. Put an apron on as an extra layer of protection. Also, if you haven’t dusted off your home’s fire extinguisher, now is not a bad time.
This recipe is a bit more complex than the others we’ve discussed, but the results are worth it. The Spruce Eats recommends these ingredients for the flaming Spanish coffee itself:
- Strong, lukewarm coffee (3 ounces)
- Cointreau or amaretto liqueur (2 ounces)
- Rum (2 ounces)
In the glass, you’ll need:
- Ground nutmeg (a pinch)
- Ground cinnamon (a pinch)
- Brown sugar (2 tablespoons)
- Lemon juice (2 tablespoons)
If you want to garnish the beverage properly, you can use a brandied or maraschino cherry, chocolate syrup or chocolate shavings, citrus fruit zest (lime, orange, or lemon), nutmeg or cinnamon, or heavy cream or whipped cream.
Okay, let’s get started making some flaming Spanish coffee.
First, you want to measure the quantities of brewed coffee, coffee liqueur, and rum using different cups for each. Then grab a heat-resistant wine glass and rim it, which means to decorate the rim of the glass.
Fill a shallow, small bowl with lemon juice and then use another such bowl for the sugar. First, place the rim of the glass in the lemon juice and next the sugar so it sticks.
Add the recommended amount of rum. Hold your wine glass at a precise angle of 45 degrees away from your face and body.
When you’re ready, use a long lighter to ignite the rum. As the rum catches on fire, put your wine glass straight.
Slowly rotate your hand in a circle to move the flaming rum around the sugar on the rim. The sugar will begin to caramelize. Then you can add the ground cinnamon and nutmeg into the glass and top it with the liqueur.
It’s okay if the coffee liqueur starts to boil, even if the rum has stopped igniting by this point. Once you pour the coffee in, the liqueur won’t boil.
Allow the ingredients to cool a touch and then serve.
Spiked Mexican Coffee
Outside of Irish and Spanish coffee, spiked Mexican coffee is absolutely worth trying. The warm tequila in this beverage blends especially well with coffee liqueur and warm, freshly brewed coffee. Reserve this beverage for a cold winter’s night!
The recipe is courtesy of AllRecipes. You’ll need the following ingredients:
- Whipped cream (2 tablespoons)
- Hot coffee (5 ounces)
- Tequila (1/2 ounce)
- Coffee liqueur (1 ounce)
Here’s how to make this easy-breezy boozy coffee. Take your favorite coffee mug and pour the tequila and coffee liqueur. Stir the ingredients. Then add the coffee once it’s come off the coffeemaker.
Top the whole thing with a generous amount of whipped cream and enjoy!
Italian Coffee
If you’re going to make Italian coffee, we couldn’t recommend Strega enough.
This digestif straight from Italy includes 70 spices and herbs blended together. Between the saffron, mint, and juniper, the backdrop of spices and herbs goes especially nicely with coffee, especially dark roasts.
Strega is the basis of the original Italian coffee and will thus reproduce the most authentic flavor when you make it.
The Spruce Eats has a simple recipe for Italian coffee that you can make tonight. After all, Italian coffee is best enjoyed after dinner. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Grated nutmeg
- Whipped cream
- Fresh brewed black coffee (up to 6 ounces)
- Strega (1 ounce)
Warm a mug or an Irish coffee glass for style points. Add the Strega into the glass first, then coffee straight off the machine. Squirt out some whipped cream and top that with grated nutmeg.
Café Caribbean
How about a dessert alcoholic coffee? Although you can serve the Café Caribbean with whipped cream, this drink tastes a whole heck of a lot better with high-quality ice cream scooped into the glass instead.
Here’s a recipe for the Café Caribbean cocktail courtesy of Food.com. Gather up these ingredients:
- Whipped cream or high-quality vanilla ice cream
- Sugar (1 teaspoon)
- Coffee (4 ounces)
- Rum (3/4 ounces)
- Amaretto (3/4 ounces)
In a wide-mouthed glass, combine the coffee, rum, and Amaretto, stirring. Mix the sugar and then scoop either ice cream or whipped cream generously.
Café Brasileiro
The Brazilian coffee cocktail known as the Café Brasileiro includes cachaca as the main ingredient.
This distilled sugar cane juice spirit is produced natively in Brazil. We recommend searching high and low to find cachaca, as it really brings the Café Brasileiro together.
Per The Spruce Eats, you’ll need these ingredients for the cocktail:
- Vanilla cream (2 ounces)
- Simple syrup (1/2 ounce)
- Hot black coffee (2 ½ ounces)
- Chocolate liqueur (1/2 ounce)
- Cachaca (1 ½ ounce)
Make your own vanilla cream with these ingredients:
- Vanilla bean (1)
- Heavy cream (2 ounces)
Now you’re ready to get started! Begin with vanilla cream. Take the vanilla pod and cut it open with a knife. Scrape away the seeds using your knife and transfer them to your cocktail shaker.
Pour in the heavy cream with the vanilla and then shake for at least 20 seconds. Put the shaker in the fridge while you ready the rest of the beverage.
Grab a mug or an Irish coffee glass and add the coffee, simple syrup, chocolate liqueur, and cachaca. Take the cream out of the fridge and apply it in layers. Take your time here, as this is a more delicate process.
Café Royal
Black coffee and coffee liqueur complement one another nicely in the café royal, and the chocolate notes of this beverage make it one that you’ll enjoy sipping on often.
Patron Tequila has a foolproof recipe to follow. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Cocoa powder
- Whipped cream (1 ounce)
- Strong, hot black coffee (8 ounces)
- Coffee liqueur (1.5 ounces)
Heat a coffee mug using hot water, then dump the water down the drain of your sink. Brew black coffee and pour it straight into the mug when your coffeemaker beeps. Add the coffee liqueur right afterward.
Finish with a dollop of whipped cream and cocoa powder on top.
Irish Winter
Last but certainly not least is the Irish winter, a variation on Irish coffee that’s sweetened with the inclusion of coffee liqueur.
The Spruce Eats recommends the following recipe quantities:
Warm an Irish coffee glass and add first the whiskey, then the coffee liqueur, and finally, the Irish cream. Pour in the 4 ounces of coffee after brewing on the machine and stir the ingredients before adding whipped cream.
How to Make Espresso for Your Coffee Cocktails?
The staple of every caffeinated cocktail is coffee. Once you water all the other ingredients for your drink, you must first make your coffee or espresso. In short a shot of coffee is a small, highly caffeinated, and strong-tasting dose of coffee. To make a shot of coffee, you need an espresso machine. Grind the coffee, pack the grounds, tamp them, and then brew a shot.
Click the link to read more on how to properly make espresso for some of your favorite alcoholic drinks.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, 12 delicious, unique types of alcoholic coffee drinks to try. Whether you like your spirits sweeter or you enjoy a cocktail with a lot of fire (sometimes literally, as in the case with Kentucky coffee), there’s something on this list for all coffee lovers!
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