If you love a cup of coffee in the morning, and you love a cocktail in the evening, then why not combine the two into a late-night caffeinated treat? Coffee cocktails are having something of a moment, spurred on by the enormous popularity of the Espresso Martini. But many variations of the Espresso Martini have upped the syrups used, and many of the drinks inspired by this tend toward being sweet. And while there’s nothing wrong with a rich, creamy dessert cocktail, that isn’t the only way to make use of coffee flavors in your drinks.
As well as fitting with cream and caramel, coffee also goes well with more bracing, bitter flavors. It’s often overlooked now, but the Irish Coffee is a classic for combining the hearty bitterness of black coffee with the fruity depths of Irish whiskey. And another spirit which pairs extremely well with coffee is tequila, especially those tequilas which lean toward smokey or savory agave flavors. The darkness of coffee and the mineral and floral notes of a tequila set each other off extremely well.
That’s why there’s been a trend for tequila-based coffee liqueurs in recent years. There’s the Patrón XO coffee liqueur which has become inescapable in clubs over the last few years, but there are also smaller brands doing their own takes on the concept, like Cantera Negra Tequila which has its own Cantera Negra Café liqueur.
If you’re intrigued by the combination of coffee and tequila, Cantera Negra has four delicious recipes to show you how to mix these flavors ranging from the robust, spirituous Café Agave Old Fashioned which makes use of the classic Old Fashioned formula to show off the best of the tequila’s nuances, to the sweet and creamy Gingerbread Café which adds crowd-pleasing dessert elements like Frangelico and gingerbread syrup to create a festive treat. I’m particularly intrigued by the use of a barspoon of crème fraiche in this drink, which should add a lovely richness as well as a hint of sourness to balance all that sweet.
Café Agave Old Fashioned
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ parts Cantera Negra Reposado Tequila
- ½ part Cantera Negra Café
- 2 dashes Chocolate bitters
- Orange peel to garnish
Method:
Add ingredients into a mixing glass and stir with ice until chilled and diluted. Strain into a rocks glass over a large cube. Garnish with an orange peel.
Cantera Coffee
Ingredients:
- 2 parts Cantera Negra Café
- 1 part Cantera Negra Silver Tequila
- Top hot coffee
- Float heavy cream
- Dusted cinnamon and/or espresso beans to garnish
Method:
Build in glass mug. Top with hot coffee and heavy cream floater. Garnish.
Café Helado
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ parts Rum
- 1 part Cantera Negra Café
- ½ part Banana Liqueur
- 1 big scoop of Vanilla ice cream
- Dark chocolate to garnish
Method:
Shake all ingredients together with ice until ice cream is all melted. Strain into a coupe glass. Grate dark chocolate on top with a microplane.
Gingerbread Café
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ parts Cantera Negra Reposado Tequila
- ½ part Cantera Negra Café
- 1 shot Espresso
- ½ part Frangelico
- ¼ part Gingerbread syrup (equal parts cinnamon syrup to ginger syrup)
- Barspoon Crème fraiche
- 2 dashes of Pecan bitters
- Grated cinnamon garnish
Method:
Build in tin. Dry shake. Wet shake. Strain into Old Fashioned rocks glass (“served down”). Garnish.
