Saturday Spirits Archives – A Well Crafted Party

A Legit Coffee Cocktail with Rolling River Spirits Coffee Spirit

April 20, 2019 5 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

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!

A Well Crafted Pantry

The Spicy Christmas a Chipotle and Cranberry Cocktail

December 1, 2018 No Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

Spice up the holidays with this simple cocktail recipe that features sweet, sour, and spicy notes of cranberry, lime, and smoked jalapenos! One of my favorite restaurant cocktails of all time features a pepper vodka mixed with citrus, so when I received a bottle of the recently released Chipotle Vodka by Cascade Street Distillery I knew I wanted to create a sweet and spicy holiday cocktail recipe.

This is the first in my 2018 series of 12 Days of Christmas DIY. You know with today being Saturday Spirits I had to share a DIY holiday cocktail to kick off my 12 Days of Christmas DIYs. And, yes, recipes count as DIY because you are completely doing it yourself rather than picking it up off a shelf. This post is in partnership with Cascade Street Distillery. I received complimentary product. Recipe and opinions are my own.

The Spicy Christmas Cocktail featuring Chipotle Vodka

This recipe creates 1 cocktail. Serve in a sugared rimmed martini glass with sugared cranberries.

Ingredients:

1 oz Cranberry Syrup (see recipe below)
1 oz Cranberry Juice
1 oz lime juice
1.5 oz chipotle vodka

Directions:

Pour the cranberry syrup, lime juice, cranberry juice, and chipotle vodka over ice into a shaker.
Shake well! Shake until the shaker gets frosty. This will chill the drink effectively as well as impart some water into the mix.
Strain into a sugar-rimmed martini glass and garnish with sugared cranberries.

Cranberry Syrup

Cranberries tend to be quite tart. So, when creating a drink with the tart flavors of cranberry and lime we really need to impart some good sweetness to the mix. Creating a cranberry syrup will add the right amount of sweetness to the cocktail to help balance the more tart and spicy notes.

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cranberry juice

Directions:

Bring ingredients to a boil over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Stir frequently so that the sugar doesn’t burn.
Turn down the temp and let simmer until cranberries soften and burst.
Strain the mixture using a fine mesh sieve reserving the liquid and discarding the cranberries.
Chill – Can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Your spice-loving friends will love this holiday cocktail.

A Well Crafted Pantry

Bourbon Sparkling Apple Cider Fall Cocktail Recipe

November 17, 2018 No Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

It’s Fall, y’all! And, in the Fall I crave bourbon. For a recent low-key Fall party, I crafted a super simple, but delicious cocktail featuring Broken Top Bourbon, sparkling wine, and apple cider. I put it together on the bar so guests could make their own. However, you could also pre-prep and create a delicious punch! This cocktail would be a great addition to your Thanksgiving table and would also be a tasty addition to the winter holiday season!

This post is in partnership with Cascade Street Distillery. I was provided a complimentary product. All opinions are my own. Thank you for reading and learning more about the companies that support this blog.

When I say that this cocktail is simple… I mean it. I love a well-crafted cocktail with gorgeous ingredients and garnishes, but I also really value simple (but quality) solutions to hosting events. There are a lot of things happening when you host, might as well make it easy on yourself if you have a great and easy solution! One way to really make this cocktail hit a home run with your guests is by picking really good ingredients. I picked a local hand-pressed apple cider and Oregon-produced, small-batch bourbon that has been aged in charred oak barrels and has notes of caramel and vanilla. Taking extra steps of garnishing your drinks with things like a cinnamon sugar rim, apple slices, or cinnamon sticks will also make this drink extra special.

Bourbon Sparkling Apple Cider Cocktail

Single Glass:

Combine 1.5 oz of Broken Top Bourbon (or your favorite bourbon), 2 oz of chilled apple cider, and 3 oz of chilled sparkling wine in a glass. Garnish with apple slices, cinnamon sticks, or a cinnamon sugar rim.

Punch: Makes 8 glasses

Note: When making this pitcher cocktail I recommend adding ice cubes made of apple cider rather than water so that the drink doesn’t dilute in flavor as the ice melts. Due to the addition of ice, there is a bit more bourbon than what you’d have in a single glass portioning.

Combine 2 cups of bourbon, 3 cups of ice, 2.5 cups of apple cider, and 1 bottle of sparkling wine in a punch bowl or pitcher. If you are creating a punch bowl then add in apple slices and cinnamon sticks for garnish.