With millions of Americans under stay-at-home orders, many are learning that remote work can blur the lines between day and night, work and leisure. Now, we’re holding meetings in yoga pants with our bedroom walls for backdrops, as kids and pets make surprise appearances in the video feed.
That’s why the official drink of my own quarantine is coffee liqueur, a spirit that’s a little bit breakfast and a little bit happy hour. Like the perfect black dress, it bridges the gap between office appropriate and NSFW (that’s not safe for work). Even better, it’s got enough natural caffeine to rachet up my alertness for yet another round of Zoom calls, endless news-scrolling, or a late-night “Tiger King” binge-watching session.
In my love affair with coffee liqueur, it helps that I’ve graduated from the dusty Kahlua in the back of my liquor cabinet to a bottle of Grand Brulot VSOP Cognac Café, which balances sweetened cognac with a bracing espresso bite.
“You start sipping it and you’re like ‘wait, this is not what I expected,’” says Tiffanie Barriere, an Atlanta-based cocktail creator and drink coach. It’s great on its own, especially when served over ice with an orange twist. And mixing with the coffee liqueur doesn’t have to be complicated, Barriere says. “Effervescence opens everything up,” she explains, “so try adding club soda, Champagne, Prosecco—anything with bubbles.”
Playing with cocktails during coronavirus lockdown in her Atlanta home, Barriere’s been stirring coffee liqueur into a refreshing honey lemonade that’s light enough for spring. “Squeeze a lemon into some honey syrup,” she says, “then I do some of the Grand Brulot and top it with soda.”
And if you’re craving a mid-day dessert to ease the pangs of a real-life party gone virtual, the spirit is also a welcome addition to shakes and ice cream drinks. “I talked my girlfriend into making a frozen coffee drink with it,” says Barriere. “She tossed it in her blender with a scoop of peanut butter, almond milk, and ice, and it came out so luscious.”
But for many, even simple cocktail projects can seem overwhelming in a locked-down world. Fortunately for us, Barriere notes that one of the best ways to drink coffee liqueur is also the simplest, sharing a recipe that’s pitch-perfect for the current moment. “Just throw it in some coffee and call it a day,” she says.
Recipes
Brulot Black Manhattan
Makes: 1 cocktail
Ingredients
1 ounce Grand Brulot
1 ounce bourbon
1 ounce sweet vermouth
3 dashes orange bitters
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass—with ice or without.
Top with an orange wheel and two cocktail cherries, and serve.
French Negroni
Makes: 1 cocktail
Ingredients
1 ounce Grand Brulot
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Campari
Directions
Fill a rocks glass with ice. Pour each of the ingredients into the glass, stirring gently to combine. Garnish with an orange wheel.
Grand Brulot Peppermint
Makes: 1 cocktail
Ingredients
1 ounce Grand Brulot
½ ounce peppermint schnapps
¾ ounce Cognac
4 ounces hot chocolate
whipped cream (optional)
Directions
Warm a heat-proof glass by rinsing with hot water. Combine all ingredients in the glass, top with whipped cream, and serve.
All recipes adapted from Grand Brulot
Jen Rose Smith is a freelance writer and award-winning guidebook author whose work explores travel, adventure and food. She’s currently living on the road, with a mountainous 2018 itinerary that goes from the Andes of South America to the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees. Read more of her work at jenrosesmith.com.
