A Legit Coffee Cocktail with Rolling River Spirits Coffee Spirit

I like the word legit. I likely use it too much. But, I have had my share of coffee cocktails that taste more like a milk shake than a coffee drink. This cocktail isn’t like that. Sure, it has some sweetness to it and creaminess…but, you can taste the COFFEE. That is in small part due to a good double shot of espresso and in large part to the smooth coffee infused spirit created by Rolling River.

I was sent a complimentary bottle of the Rolling River Coffee distilled spirit. All opinions, recipe, and photos are my own. To purchase Rolling River Spirits you can find stores that carry it in California and Oregon as well as online retailers. Thank you for reading and sharing as your support helps support content creation for this blog.

I’m a huge fan of Coava coffee (I order it online for my home coffee now that I live too far from stores that carry it!) and was thrilled to see that the Rolling Spirits Coffee feature coffee roasted by Coava. Upon tasting I was immediately impressed that this coffee flavored liquor wasn’t laden with sweetness as most coffee liquors seem to be!

The Coffee Spirit was distilled from organic, non-GMO hard red winter wheat in small batches. There is an initial distilling process then it is mixed with a brew of the Coava coffee and distilled a final time. That last distillation brings out clean flavors and a nice clear finish on the spirit. See– no added sugar!

I could totally see a coffee lover drinking this liquor chilled and neat. However, I knew that I wanted to test out my ability to create a coffee cocktail that wasn’t overly sweet and tasted like COFFEE. A cocktail that one might bring a coffee-loving mom with her Mother’s Day breakfast in bed. HINT.

My husband and I have a supreme dedication to beverages in our home. There is our normal bar, our cabinet full of non-alcoholic beverages, a hot tea bar, and our coffee bar. Our coffee bar is complete with burr grinder, coffee maker, french press, pour over carafe, and espresso machine. None of it is top of the line…because, well, budget. But, we do value it.

Because we do have all those fun tools. I was thrilled with the opportunity to use my espresso machine for this cocktail. However, it isn’t needed! You can easily sub a strong brewed coffee or great cold brew. (Stumptown makes a delicious strong cold brew that would absolutely work in this drink and is carried in a lot of locations.)

A Legit Coffee Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces espresso (or strong coffee) chilled
• 1 3/4 oz Coffee Spirit by Rolling River Spirits
• 1 oz Dark Rum
• 1/2 oz (or to taste) of simple syrup or honey (whatever you like in your coffee!)
• 1 oz of heavy cream shaken
• Optional garnish of cocoa powder

(Keep scrolling for the recipe!)

Directions:

• In a shaker, pour the Espresso, Coffee Spirit, Simple Syrup, and Dark Rum over ice. Shake to incorporate and thoroughly chill.
• Strain into a martini glass
• Pour your heavy cream in a jar that can close — I used a small jam jar. Shake vigorously. You want it to become pretty frothy, but not full on whipped cream. It took me about 15 seconds of shaking.
• Pour the cream into your martini glass.
• Sprinkle cocoa powder on the top and enjoy!

I really love that it tastes truly like coffee and has that extra kick of rum. The rum really brings out the flavors of the coffee in my opinion without overpowering it. The husband was a fan too. 😉 It’s legit yummy.

Like this recipe? Check out my other tasty cocktail recipes!

If you try this cocktail I’d love to hear about it! share in the comments below any changes you made or other ways you’d use this Coffee Spirit!