Coffee Cocktails: Seven Classics and the Liqueur to Use

Coffee and alcohol is the oldest trick in the book for making a drink feel like an occasion, and the Espresso Martini has been Australia's most ordered cocktail for years now.

These are seven coffee cocktails with real measurements, because the version of this page that ran for years said "1 shot" and "an espresso" and left the rest to you. It starts with the Party Cappuccino, which was a Distillery King house recipe and is still a good drink, rebuilt around a liqueur you can actually buy.

Three things that decide whether it works

• Fresh espresso, cooled for a minute. This is the difference between a good Espresso Martini and a bad one. Instant will not foam, and espresso poured in hot melts your ice and thins the drink.
• Shake longer than feels right. Fifteen seconds. The foam on an Espresso Martini comes from the coffee emulsifying under a hard shake, not from anything you add to it.
• Coffee is not a sobriety aid. Caffeine masks how drunk you feel without reducing impairment, which is worth knowing about a category of drink built on the combination. Count what you are pouring; standard drink figures are given below.

Which coffee liqueur, and which base pack

Two coffee liqueurs in the Top Shelf range, and they are genuinely different drinks rather than alternatives.

Getting the base wrong is the most common ordering mistake in the whole liqueurs and schnapps range, and the two are not interchangeable. If you would rather skip bases entirely, Maria's Coffee Liqueur as a top-up needs only 750 ml of neutral spirit.

For Irish coffee specifically there is a dedicated Irish Coffee essence, and Irish Cream covers the float.

On the cappuccino essence: Top Shelf Cappuccino is no longer available. Cafelua is the closest replacement and is what the recipe below now uses.

The recipes

Measurements in millilitres. A standard Australian nip is 30 ml.

Party Cappuccino

A Distillery King house recipe from the days when a shaker came out at every gathering. Rebuilt with Cafelua in place of the discontinued cappuccino essence.

• 30 ml Cafelua
• 30 ml Plain Vodka
• 30 ml fresh espresso, cooled for a minute
• 10 ml Chocolate Cream liqueur
• Grated chocolate or cocoa dusting

1. Fill a shaker with ice.
2. Add the Cafelua, vodka, espresso and chocolate cream.
3. Shake hard for a full fifteen seconds.
4. Double strain into a chilled martini glass.
5. Dust with cocoa or grate chocolate over the foam.

The splash of chocolate cream is what gives it the cappuccino character the original essence provided. Roughly 1.4 standard drinks.

Espresso Martini

The benchmark, and the one worth getting right.

• 45 ml Plain Vodka
• 20 ml Cafelua
• 30 ml fresh espresso, cooled for a minute
• 5 ml sugar syrup, optional
• Three coffee beans

1. Shake everything hard with ice for a full fifteen seconds.
2. Double strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass.
3. Float three coffee beans on the foam.

Taste before adding syrup. A well-made coffee liqueur is already sweet enough that many people do not need it. Roughly 1.9 standard drinks.

White Russian

• 45 ml Plain Vodka
• 30 ml Coffee Maria
• 30 ml thickened cream or full cream milk

1. Build the vodka and Coffee Maria in a rocks glass over plenty of ice. Stir.
2. Pour the cream slowly over the back of a bar spoon so it layers.
3. Leave it layered or stir it through. Both are correct.

The rum base of Coffee Maria suits this better than Cafelua, which is sharper. Roughly 2.0 standard drinks.

Black Russian

The same drink stripped back, and better than it has any right to be.

• 50 ml Plain Vodka
• 25 ml Cafelua
• Lemon twist, optional

1. Build both in a rocks glass over one large ice cube.
2. Stir for about ten seconds.
3. Twist lemon peel over the surface if you want to lift it, then discard the peel.

Roughly 2.1 standard drinks, and the strongest drink here despite having two ingredients.

Irish Coffee

Properly made this is one of the great drinks, and almost nobody makes it properly.

• 45 ml Southern Whiskey
• 10 ml sugar syrup
• 120 ml hot filter coffee
• 30 ml lightly whipped thickened cream

1. Warm the glass first with hot water, then tip it out. A cold glass kills this drink.
2. Add the whiskey and sugar syrup, then the hot coffee. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
3. Whip the cream until it just thickens but still pours. Too stiff and it sits like a lid.
4. Pour the cream slowly over the back of a spoon so it floats.
   
   
5. Do not stir. Drink the coffee through the cream.

The sugar is structural, not sweetening: without it the cream sinks. Roughly 1.4 standard drinks.

Coffee Old Fashioned

• 50 ml Bourbon
• 15 ml Cafelua
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Orange peel

1. Stir all three with plenty of ice for around 30 seconds.
2. Strain over one large ice cube in a rocks glass.
3. Twist orange peel over the surface and drop it in.

The coffee liqueur is replacing the sugar, not the bourbon, so keep it to 15 ml. Roughly 2.0 standard drinks.

Cold Brew Highball

The lightest drink here, and the one to make when everyone else is on their third.

• 30 ml Coffee Maria
• 120 ml cold brew coffee
• Soda water, to top
• Orange slice

1. Fill a tall glass with ice.
2. Add the Coffee Maria and cold brew, stir briefly.
3. Top with soda.
4. Garnish with an orange slice.

Roughly 0.6 standard drinks. Cold brew is less acidic than espresso, which is why it works long.

Making the coffee first

The coffee matters as much as the liqueur, and it is the part people skip.

• Espresso from a machine or a stovetop pot. Both work. Instant does not foam and tastes like instant.
• Cool it for sixty seconds before it goes in the shaker.
• Cold brew for the long drinks. Coarse grounds steeped in cold water for twelve to eighteen hours, then strained. Less acidic and it keeps a week in the fridge.
• Make coffee fresh. Coffee that has sat on a hot plate tastes burnt and no liqueur hides it.

Making the liqueur first

• A clean neutral still matters. Coffee and sugar mask roughness rather than remove it. Filter before you flavour. Our T500 instructions guide covers producing a clean base.
• Check your alcohol strength. Both liqueurs specify a volume at 40%, and those figures assume 40%. Use an alcometer.
• Buy the right base. Base C for Cafelua, Base A for Coffee Maria. They are not interchangeable and it is the mistake we see most.

Distilling alcohol in Australia requires an ATO excise manufacturer licence and there are rules about still size. Our guide on whether it is legal to distil alcohol in Australia sets out where you stand.

Where to start this weekend

Of the seven coffee cocktails here, make the Irish Coffee. Everyone thinks they have had one and almost nobody has had a good one, and the difference is a warmed glass and cream whipped to the right consistency.

• Never made a cocktail before? Black Russian, then Cold Brew Highball. Both are built in the glass.
• Want to learn the shake? Espresso Martini. You can see when the foam is right.
• Something lighter? Cold Brew Highball, at about 0.6 standard drinks.
• Only buying one essence? Cafelua for espresso-style drinks, Coffee Maria if you like a White Russian.

Both are in the liqueurs and schnapps essences range. Check which base pack yours needs before you order, and if you are not sure, ask us.

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FAQ

Q: What happened to the Top Shelf Cappuccino essence?

It is no longer available. Cafelua is the closest current replacement, and the Party Cappuccino recipe on this page has been rebuilt around it with a splash of chocolate cream liqueur to give it the cappuccino character the original essence provided.

Q: What is the difference between Cafelua and Coffee Maria?

Cafelua is a coffee-based Mexican style, closest to Kahlúa, made with Liqueur Base C and 710 ml of alcohol at 40%. Coffee Maria is a rum-based Caribbean style, closest to Tia Maria, made with Liqueur Base A and 645 ml. Cafelua is sharper and suits espresso drinks; Coffee Maria is rounder and better in a White Russian.

Q: Why is my Espresso Martini not foamy?

Three usual causes. The shake was too short, and it needs a full fifteen seconds. The coffee was instant, which will not emulsify. Or the espresso went in hot and melted the ice before the shake could do its work. Cool it for a minute first.

Q: Do coffee liqueur essences need a base pack?

Yes, and not the same one. Cafelua takes Liqueur Base C, Coffee Maria takes Liqueur Base A. If you would rather avoid base packs, the Maria's Coffee top-up version needs only 750 ml of neutral spirit and nothing else.

Q: Does coffee in a cocktail make you less drunk?

No. Caffeine changes how intoxicated you feel without changing how intoxicated you are, so a coffee cocktail can leave you more impaired than you think. That is worth knowing about this category specifically. Standard drink counts are listed with every recipe on this page.