Don’t you hate those times when you’re faced with deciding between a refreshing mug of coffee and a pleasant cocktail? Well, thanks to cold brew coffee, you can have both - at the same time!
Cold brew coffee cocktails are not a joke or gimmick. The best coffee shops and bars around the world are growing their coffee cocktail offerings as cold brew grows in popularity.
Though richer and darker than many typical cocktail ingredients, bartenders and drink crafters are finding creative, delicious ways to use it. My goal with this article is to help you bring these fascinating drinks to your own home.
This is one of the joys of cold brew coffee: you can use it in so many ways. Fun sodas, satisfying mocktails, and - of course - refreshing iced coffee. But cold brew coffee cocktails elevate the versatility of cold brew to a new level, one which I am excited to share with you.
Your home bar is about to get a lot more caffeinated. Here are five cold brew coffee mocktails you can make at home.
A Note About The Cold Brew Coffee You Use
Don’t forget that all coffees taste slightly different. Coffee is an agricultural product, after all.
Some are light and floral, others are deep and chocolatey. Not every coffee will thrive with these cocktail recipes. If your cold brew doesn’t quite seem to find in one of these drinks, just try a different coffee with a different flavor profile and go from there.
There’s no pressure to make these drinks exactly like I lay out in these recipes. Listen to and follow the advice of your unique taste preferences.
It’s also important to realize that cold brew coffee concentrate can be made to nearly any strength. If you follow our Ultimate Guide to Cold Brew Coffee, your brewed concentrate will match ours and will taste just about as strong. However, if you use a different recipe or process, you may need to adjust the amount of concentrate you use to achieve the same balance and flavor in your cocktails.
Most importantly, enjoy the process of crafting these cocktails and learning to make them better and better over time.
1. Cold Brew Martini
This is one of the classiest coffee cocktails out there, stealing the visual show at any cocktail party. The rounded flavor of cold brew is lightly sweetened with sugar and polished with coffee liqueur. A light layer of foam adds a unique texture to the drink’s surface.
To make this one, mix the cold concentrate, simple syrup, vodka, and liqueur in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Then strain the drink into a martini glass and immediately top with three whole coffee beans.
- 2oz cold brew coffee
- ½ oz simple syrup
- 2oz vodka
- 1oz coffee liqueur
- 3 coffee beans as garnish
2. Midnight Hour Rum Sour
This deep-noted sour class drink plays into cold brew coffee’s strengths. It’s deep, it’s dark, it has a vibrant tang, and it’s incredibly delicious.
To make this one, stir the ingredients together with ice and top with lemon zest as a garnish. I suggest using a coffee with a darker realm of flavor, such as a chocolatey Central American or a fruity, yet dark, Ethiopian.
- 2oz cold brew coffee
- 2oz dark rum
- ½ oz brown sugar simple syrup
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Ice
- Lemon zest as garnish
Read: Iced Coffee VS Cold Brew: What's The Difference?
3. Untitled Drink #4
Hailing from “Toddy Cold Brewed: Simply Better Cocktails”, this recipe is one for the bold and adventurous. This wild combination of spicy rye, sweet vermouth, and rich cold brew form a fascinatingly complex drink.
Simply stir the ingredients together, top with lemon zest and fresh thyme, and serve in a small cocktail glass
- 1oz cold brew coffee
- 1oz rye whiskey
- 1oz sweet vermouth
- 1oz maraschino liqueur
- Dash of peychaud’s bitters
- Lemon zest and fresh thyme sprig as garnish
Read: 8 Vessels You Can Use As Your Cold Brew Coffee Maker
4. Cold Brew Hot Toddy
This caffeinated spin on the Wintertime favorite, the Hot Toddy, is rich, warm, and satisfying on a cool evening. This particular drink is often saved for when you’re feeling under the weather (it’s a great one for a sore throat), but there’s no reason to stop yourself from enjoying it when your health is up.
To make this one, combine all the ingredients and stir well to fully melt and incorporate the honey.
- 1oz cold brew coffee
- 1oz bourbon whiskey
- 6oz hot water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Juice of ½ lemon
5. Cold Brew Coffee Negroni
Set the gin aside (or leave it in, if you wish) and pull out the cold brew concentrate for this spinoff negroni recipe. The orange and cherry sweetness and cinnamon notes of campari pair very well with cold brew coffee.
This one can be crafted by stirring the ingredients together and topping the drink with an orange peel garnish.
- 1.5oz cold brew coffee
- 1oz campari
- 1oz sweet vermouth
- Orange peel garnish
Read: Skip The Coffee Aisle, Here's How To Find The World's Best Coffee
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Your home bar will never be the same once you’ve had a few of these cold brew coffee cocktails
These are just the beginning - if you come up with other cocktails, let us know!
Happy cold brewing!
