Coffee, bourbon and maple, built warm. This is the drink to make when it's dark at four in the afternoon and you want something to sit with rather than something to wake up from.
It takes four minutes and it's difficult to get wrong — provided you add things in the right order, which is the one place this recipe can fall apart.
The recipe
Makes one · 4 minutes
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz coffee liqueur (Kahlúa or similar)
- 1 oz bourbon
- 2 oz espresso (a double shot), or 4 oz strong brewed coffee
- 2 oz steamed milk
- 0.5 oz maple syrup — real maple, not pancake syrup
- A pinch of cinnamon
- Whipped cream, optional
- To garnish: a cinnamon stick, or a dusting of cocoa
Instructions
- Warm the glass. Fill it with hot water, leave it a minute, tip it out. A cold glass pulls the temperature out of a drink this size almost immediately, and this one is meant to be sipped slowly.
- Combine the liqueur, bourbon and maple syrup in the warmed glass and stir until the syrup is fully incorporated. Do this before the coffee goes in — maple syrup is dense and will sit at the bottom in a sullen layer if you add it last.
- Pull the espresso and pour it in hot. Stir once. The heat carries the aromatics off the bourbon, which is most of what you smell when you pick the glass up.
- Steam the milk to about 65°C / 150°F and pour it in gently down the side of the glass. You want it layered and frothy rather than fully mixed.
- Top with whipped cream if you're using it, then the cinnamon stick or cocoa.
- Add the pinch of cinnamon and serve immediately.
Roughly one standard drink's worth of alcohol, depending on your pour.
Getting it right
Use real maple syrup. Grade A dark has the caramel depth this needs. Pancake syrup is corn syrup with colouring and will make the whole thing taste flat and one-note sweet.
Don't over-steam the milk. 65°C is warmer than you'd take a latte, because this drink sits in the glass longer, but past about 70°C milk starts tasting scalded and that flavour cuts straight through the bourbon.
Pick a bourbon with some sweetness. A wheated bourbon works better here than a high-rye one — rye's pepper fights the maple. You don't need anything expensive; the coffee and liqueur do a lot of the work.
Use a decent coffee. A medium or medium-dark roast with chocolate and nut character sits well with bourbon. Bright, fruity light roasts clash with the maple and end up tasting sour.
Make it non-alcoholic by dropping the bourbon and liqueur and adding a half ounce more maple plus a few drops of vanilla. It becomes a maple latte, which is a good drink in its own right.
What to serve it with
It's sweet and strong, so it wants something plain alongside rather than another dessert. Shortbread, a plain biscotti, salted nuts, or a sharp aged cheddar all work. Chocolate cake does not — you'll taste neither.
It also works as the drink you make after dinner instead of dessert, which is how we usually end up drinking it.
What you need
You need espresso and steamed milk, so this is one of the few cocktails that genuinely benefits from a machine.
- Breville Bambino Plus — $499.95. Real nine-bar shots and a steam wand that handles two ounces of milk quickly. The most sensible entry point.
- Turin SK40 — $199 or Turin DF54 — $225. Either will grind espresso properly. The DF54's flat burrs are the better buy for $26 more.
- LUCCA Frothing Pitcher — $30. Two ounces of milk is an awkward amount to steam without a small pitcher.
No machine? Strong brewed coffee and a handheld frother will make a perfectly good version of this. The bourbon doesn't know the difference.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a non-alcoholic version?
Yes. Leave out the bourbon and coffee liqueur, add another half ounce of maple syrup and a few drops of vanilla extract. You lose the warmth the spirits bring but you keep the maple-and-coffee character, and it's genuinely good rather than a consolation prize.
What type of coffee works best?
A medium or medium-dark roast with chocolate, caramel or nut notes. Those flavours sit naturally alongside bourbon and maple. Bright, acidic light roasts fight the maple syrup and the result tastes sour rather than warm.
Can I prepare this in advance for a party?
Partly. Mix the bourbon, coffee liqueur and maple syrup in a jug ahead of time — that base keeps for days in the fridge. The espresso and milk have to be made to order, since both go flat and cold quickly. Pour two ounces of base per glass, then top it as you go.
How do I make the steamed milk without an espresso machine?
Heat the milk to about 65°C in a saucepan or microwave, then froth it with a handheld frother, a French press plunger pumped rapidly, or a jar shaken hard with the lid on. You won't get microfoam, but for a drink topped with whipped cream that hardly matters.
What garnishes work besides a cinnamon stick?
A dusting of cocoa powder, freshly grated nutmeg, a strip of orange peel expressed over the surface, or a few flakes of sea salt on the whipped cream. The orange peel is the most interesting of them — it lifts the bourbon considerably.
More like this
Try the butterscotch latte, the coffee spritz for something cold, or our five festive coffee creations.
Questions about machines or grinders? Call us at 800-410-8867. No script, no upsell.
— Matthew D., Founder, Cliff & Pebble
