October 1st is International Coffee Day, and what better way to celebrate than to spice up your beverage with some delicious liqueurs. A chill is in the air, so we are going to skip the espresso martinis and stick to hot beverages. Let’s take a look at some of your options.
The Classic: Irish Coffee
When people think of alcoholic coffee beverages, the Irish Coffee is likely what comes to mind. Commonplace on many brunch menus (and also in my home), there is a reason why this is a classic. Â
Ingredients:
- 4-6 oz coffee
- 1.5 oz Irish whiskey (check out our buying guide for some recommendations)
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- lightly whipped cream
Preparation:
- Preheat your mug – fill it with warm water, then pour the water out. Because you’ll add cold cream later, this will help keep the mug warm. Â
- Pour hot coffee into mug
- Add sugar and stir until dissolved
- Add Irish whiskeyÂ
- Top with lightly whipped cream – to make sure it floats, pour it over the back side of a spoon into the mug, rather than adding it directly to the mug
- Serve and enjoy!
Keep it simple, and just substitute the milk
If you’re too tired to make something fancy (perhaps because you haven’t had your coffee yet), there are some great liqueurs that you can add to your coffee in lieu of milk or cream. Our two favorites are Bailey’s Irish Cream and Amarula. Â
Ingredients:
- 4-6 oz coffee
- 1-1.5 oz Bailey’s or Amarula
- whipped cream (optional)
Preparation:
- Pour hot coffee into mug
- Add Bailey’s or Amarula (we recommend ~1 oz, but pour to your liking)
- Add whipped cream (optional, but delicious)
- Serve and enjoy!Â
What the heck is Amarula?
Amarula is a South African liqueur make from the fruit of the African marula tree. We fell in love with Amarula after having it in our coffee every morning during a safari in South Africa.  Even if you’ve never tried it before, you may recognize the bottle from the liquor store shelves (a brown bottle with a yellow tassel and an elephant on front). Elephants actually shake marula trees to get to the fruit (as seen in the picture here, which I took during the safari). Thankfully, this liqueur it is also widely available in America. Â
