Not long ago, Northwest Coffee Roasting Co.’s David Gulick asked Ted Kilgore of Taste by Niche if he could make him a coffee cocktail. “I grabbed a bag from my car and watched the magic happen. When we went over to Franco and told TJ [Vytlacil] (whose last day at Franco was yesterday) about that, he was ready to give it a go too,” Gulick said. Kilgore was handed Northwest’s Organic Sumatra beans, while the mixologist at Franco muddled Northwest’s house blend. “Ted’s was well balanced with flavor throughout. TJ’s had it at the nose and then a wicked coffee finish that was crazy good,” described Gulick.
“I think tequila and coffee go really well together,” stated Vytlacil. He served the drink in a wine glass, not just because he views the concoction as an elegant after-dinner cocktail, but also to offer an aromatic drinking experience. “I wanted him to smell the coffee and the wine glass lip is a good tulip for the nose.”
Here’s the recipes for making these coffee cocktails this weekend:
Northern Exposure Courtesy of Taste by Niche’s Ted Kilgore
1 oz. Buffalo Trace-Kentucky Straight Bourbon
½ oz. Flor de Cana 4-Year Gold Rum
½ oz. Amaro Averna
¼ oz. Aperol
20 Northwest Coffee Organic Sumatra whole coffee beans
1 flamed orange twist (instructions below)
• Muddle beans.
• Put all ingredients in shaker; shake and then fine strain into coupe.
• Garnish with flamed orange twist.
For the flamed orange twist (courtesy of Dale DeGroff’s The Craft of the Cocktail):
• Cut a thin oval peel of an orange.
• Hold a lit match in one hand and hold the twist by the side between your thumb and forefringer, skinside facing down about 4 inches above the drink.
• Hold the match between the drink and the twist. Snap the twist sharply, propelling the oil through the lit match and onto the surface of the drink.
South by Northwest Courtesy of Franco’s TJ Vytlacil
1½ oz. tequila
½ oz. lime juice
¼ oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
|½ oz. Cherry Heering
¼ oz. Orange Curaçao
Mole Bitters
8-10 Northwest Coffee House Blend whole coffee beans
• Muddle beans.
• Put all ingredients in a shaker; shake and then fine strain and serve up in a wine glass.
This article appears in Oct 1-31, 2010.