Coffee Cocktails!

Throughout our life, we love every opportunity to spend with family and friends celebrating all of life's achievements as well as those special holidays each year. What usually comes with these parties is a lot of food and sometimes some adult beverages for fun filled events.

There is one holiday in particular everyone loves enjoying: New Years Eve! This special day allows all of us to reflect on the many events that transpired over the last 12 months and to get excited about the changes that may be coming in the next twelve. But one thing we've noticed as we continue the aging process, it becomes increasingly more difficult to stay awake until midnight! Maybe the kids wore us out, or we ate too much food. Whatever the reason, we had the great idea of seeing if we could come up with a list of adult drinks that also contain coffee, to help get you to that ball drop! Enjoy the curated list of 11 coffee cocktail recipes below and please comment if you have a special favorite you would like to share with others!

Before you get started, we have a few notes on coffee usage:

1. Try extracting a richer cup of coffee to blend with those flavorful cocktails. Skip the drip coffee machine and use either a french press, Aeropress, or moka pot to create a better cup. The flavor difference is worth the extra effort!

2. Adding cocktail flavorings will not mask the undesirable flavors of bad coffee. Purchase a locally roasted high quality coffee to go with those high quality liquors!

NOTE: A few of these recipes call for cold brewed coffee. Here at Black Silo we use a 1:1 ratio, 1lb of coffee to 1 gallon of water. You can decrease these amounts if you don't need a gallon of cold brew, but after a fun filled late night, you may need some extra for the next day...just sayin! As for the right coffee to use? Any of our coffees will work but we think the Black Nile tastes the best cold brewed.

ICED IRISH COFFEE

Ingredients

2 oz Tullamore D.E.W. Original 1 tsp ground espresso 2 tsp demerara sugar 2 tsp hot water 3 oz cold brew coffee Fresh cream

Instructions Combine whiskey and espresso in a small bowl and let stand for 15 minutes. Strain through coffee filter into a cocktail shaker. Meanwhile stir sugar and hot water until dissolved then add to shaker with cold brew and ice. Shake and the strain and serve up in a Collins glass. Top with cream.

JAZZED UP

Ingredients 1.5 oz Frapin 1270 .5 oz Grand Marnier .5 oz Amaro 1 oz Cold Brew .5 oz Demerara Syrup

Instructions Combine ingredients and shake vigorously. Strain into a brandy snifter and garnish with 2-3 coffee beans.

HOT WHITE RUSSIAN

Ingredients

2.5 cups freshly brewed coffee .5 cup heavy cream .5 cup Kahlúa or other coffee-flavored liqueur, or to taste .25 cup vodka, or to taste Whipped heavy cream for garnish if desired

Instructions In a saucepan stir together the coffee, the 1/2 cup cream, the Kahlúa, and the vodka and heat the mixture over moderate heat until it is hot. Divide the mixture among heated mugs and garnish each drink with some of the whipped cream.

COFFEE OLD FASHIONED

Ingredients

1 double shot espresso (about 2 oz.), room temperature 1 oz bourbon or rye whiskey .25 oz simple syrup A dash of Peychaud's bitters 1 1-inch piece of lemon peel

Instructions Combine espresso, bourbon, simple syrup, and bitters in a shaker and fill with ice. Stir with a bar spoon for 30 seconds and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Twist lemon peel over the drink and rub around the rim of the glass. Garnish with lemon peel, optional.

CAFE CARIBBEAN

Ingredients

1 oz rum

1/2 oz amoretto

6 ounces coffee (hot, black)

Garnish: whipped cream

Garnish: shaved almonds

Instructions Gather the ingredients. Pour the rum and amaretto into an Irish coffee glass or coffee mug. Fill with hot coffee. Top with whipped cream and garnish with shaved almonds. Serve and enjoy!

ESPRESSO MARTINI

Ingredients 2 oz. vodka 1 oz. coffee liqueur 1 oz. fresh espresso

Directions Shake ingredients together with ice, then strain into a chilled martini glass. Top with three coffee beans if you want to be cute.

COFFEE-INFUSED TEQUILA

Ingredients 1 split vanilla pod (bean) 20 oz. blanco tequila 3 1/2 oz. freshly ground coffee 3 1/2 oz. demerara simple syrup*

*Demerara Simple Syrup 7 oz. water 3 1/2 oz. demerara, cane, or granulated (raw) sugar 1 tbsp. golden syrup or corn syrup (optional)

Directions 1. Add a vanilla pod to your tequila and leave to infuse for 24–72 hours (check daily, as you want a gentle vanilla taste; if you leave it too long, it becomes too floral). 2. When your vanilla infusion is ready, remove the vanilla pod, then add the ground coffee and give it a good shake. Place the tequila in the freezer for at least 72 hours. 3. Strain through a coffee filter, then add a little of the simple syrup, to taste. Shake well.

Demerara Simple Syrup Directions 1. Boil the water in the saucepan and gently add the sugar. Turn down the heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 3–5 minutes until all the sugar is dissolved, and the syrup is clear. 2. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. While still runny, pour into a sterilized mason jar or pour through a funnel into a sterilized glass bottle with stopper. Adding a spoonful of golden syrup to the cooled mixture will help keep it smooth. Store in the fridge for up to six weeks.

BAVARIAN COFFEE

Ingredients

5 oz hot coffee

½ oz peppermint schnapps

½ oz Kahlua

Sugar to taste

Whipped Cream

Directions

Simply combine peppermint schnapps with Kahlua in 5 oz of hot, black coffee. Add sugar to taste and top with whipped cream.

MEXICAN COFFEE

Ingredients

¼ cup vanilla ice cream

½ oz Kahlua

½ oz tequila

6 oz hot coffee

Directions

Simply melt the vanilla ice cream in the microwave and add it to a cup of strong, full- bodied coffee. Add the Kahlua and the Tequila and you are good to go!

This is a great cocktail served hot, but we’re sure it would taste just as wonderful cold!

MAPLE BOURBON

Ingredients

8 oz freshly brewed coffee

1 oz bourbon

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup heavy / whipping cream

2 tbsp vanilla

Directions

You can also make your whipped cream and plop it on top of your coffee drink.

Brew the coffee. In a mixing bowl, combine the whipping cream, maple syrup, vanilla and brown sugar. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Add in the bourbon. Add about 1/8th of a cup of the combined whipping cream, maple syrup, vanilla and brown sugar to a coffee mug at first. Stir it up and take a taste.

COLD BREW SOUR

Ingredients

2 oz cold brew coffee concentrate

Juice from half a lemon

1 oz simple syrup

1 lemon wedge

Directions

Add all of the ingredients to a rocks glass full of ice, stir and enjoy.