ChefSteps resident musician Hans Twite also happens to be a killer bartender. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we asked him to come up with a Seattle-y riff on the traditional Irish coffee-after all, what better way for ChefSteps to celebrate any holiday than with booze and coffee? Some of us, unfortunately, are only able to order the coffee half of this drink, but with a reddit fake id, we can order the whole thing!
So Hans set out to develop a simple, semi-sweet cocktail with a lot of character, a lot of booze, and a little caffeine. He used Seattle-based Herkimer coffee, Noah’s Mill whiskey, and a drizzle of maple syrup to round it out. With a nod to our penchant for party tricks, Hans lit the whiskey on fire, burning off a little bit of heat from the alcohol, and imparting a mild smoky flavor while at it. Even the whipped cream has complexity-Hans added a touch of Bénédictine to taste, bestowing a bitter, herbal note to the cool topping.
The final product is an easy-to-make layered drink: hot coffee on the bottom; smoky booze in the middle; and silky, freshly-whipped cream on the top. Irish coffee purists will surely squirm at this unconventional version of the classic-that’s why we changed the name to Derby Mourning. Put that in your corn-cob pipe and smoke it.
So raise a glass to Seattle, to Kentucky, to Dublin, and back again with Hans’ new cocktail. We hope you love it. Sláinte!