COFFEE AND WHISKY - OPPOSITES ATTRACT
How whisky and coffee can combine to make the perfect digestif
Coffee and whisky should be a match made in heaven. Both are go-to after-dessert options at dinner parties, both are widely available in many expressions and both are social drinks. But together they can clash as severely as your guests should talk turn to politics. It’s perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that considerate hosts commonly avoid placing them side by side.
But all that may be about to change. At this year’s London Coffee Festival, Caffeine sampled an initiative to marry coffee and whisky by ageing the former in bourbon barrels. The concept was developed by Henry and Edward of the Gentlemen Baristas, Southwark, who worked with regular customer and Diageo brand ambassador Andrea Montague to use Bulleit bourbon barrels to impart flavour into coffee.
Bourbon is an American style of whisky made predominately from corn. Like all whiskies, it’s made by taking a grain and brewing a beer-like liquid called wort. This low-alcohol brew is then distilled to make a high-alcohol spirit. Once cooled, it’s placed in barrels for ageing. It’s a legal requirement that bourbon be matured in new oak barrels, which gives the spirit its pronounced vanilla note and helps to sustain the America cooperage industry. However, as each barrel is only used once, there are a surplus of bourbon barrels in the United States. These are often shipped around the world to be reused in other whisky distilleries.
Used casks have less flavour to impart to the distilled spirit, so when former bourbon casks are used to make whisky they add a more subtle vanilla note and the spirit can be left in the cask for longer – in fact, by law, Scottish whisky has to be matured in casks for at least three years. Whisky makers also use port and sherry casks to mature spirits.
The Diageo team shipped a bourbon barrel to London, where green coffee was left inside to take on the aroma of the barrel before being roasted. The Gentlemen Baristas developed two versions: an espresso blend, to be paired with a shot of bourbon, and a filter, which can be paired or mixed. Both coffees are heavily influenced by the barrel, with strong vanilla and wood aromas. Rather interestingly, the process also seems to have affected the density of the coffee – it needs to be ground significantly finer.
The Gentleman Baristas and Diageo aren’t the only ones working with coffee and whisky. Tim Ridley, one of London’s coffee-shop pioneers, has also been experimenting with pairing whisky and coffee. We caught up with him at Merchant House bar in the City of London to see what he has discovered.
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TIM RIDLEY
Caffeine: How did your experiments with spirits and coffee start?
Tim: I have friends who work in the spirits industry and they’d often share fantastic drinks with me. Reciprocating their generosity was awkward because coffee isn’t a party drink and they would have to come to mine for me to prepare a brew. So I started infusing coffee into spirits to create a drink I could put in a hip flask and share at parties. These initial brews were brutal but tasty – they also fuelled a number of good nights out.
Caffeine: How do you go about pairing whisky and coffee?
Tim: There are a number of challenges because whisky benefits from high alcohol levels, which increase the viscosity and aromatic volatility, and is usually rather sweet. This is even more of a challenge when one mixes hot coffee with it: the alcohol starts to evaporate and the coffee’s aromas can be dominated by the booze.
Another complication is that some whiskies are peated, which adds a smoky flavour to the whisky but can easily overpower delicate coffees. It can also result in burnt flavours when paired with coffees that are a bit roasty or have higher levels of bitterness.
Caffeine: What types of pairings work?
Tim: To pair a coffee with a whisky, I normally look for one or two lead flavours that are at the forefront of both beverages and build the final drink, or serve, around that, or I look for qualities that balance each other. For example, of the two pairings we developed today, one is around the common orange flavours and the other works by constructing balance between sweetness, acidity and bitterness.
Caffeine: So, balance is important – but what is balance?
Tim: Balance is commonly used as shorthand for the harmonious proportions of the tastes of sweetness, sourness, bitterness and saltiness. What matters is their balance in the final serve, so don’t be afraid to select and prepare the parts – including the coffee – to provide only one or two components of that balance. Mixing or pairing two similar, balanced beverages seldom works.
Caffeine: How does this work when it comes to pairing flavours?
Tim: It’s paramount that a strong correlation exists between taste and flavour. You can ramp up or down the level of acidity or bitterness of the serve almost as much as you like – as long as there is a corresponding level of flavour to match the intensity of the taste. This is a key measure of quality for most beverages and it’s generally more important than balance between tastes.
Caffeine: It sounds complicated. Are there any hacks?
Tim: Just get started and sample as many things as possible. A great way is to get a group of friends together and if everyone brings a couple of coffees and a bottle of spirit, you’ll have plenty of options to try.
Washed coffees are usually easier to pair. Today we tasted around two dozen coffees and over 12 whiskies to find the pairings. Most people, including professional tasters, can only readily identify two or three aromas in any given drink, so pick a couple of key notes and build the pairing or the drink around those. Also, if the pairing is a bit forced, you can resort to adding sugar syrup – the viscosity and sweetness will cover the cracks, but it will also mask flavours.
Caffeine: Why aren’t more people working to pair coffee and alcohol?
Tim: In fact, quite a few people are. Of course, the espresso martini was the original coffee cocktail and is still very popular. At the other end of the spectrum, the organisers of the World Barista Championship also run In Good Spirits, a competition in which baristas make drinks combining coffee and spirits. It’s exciting to use coffee as an ingredient and it would be great to see more people experimenting.
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THE GENTLEMEN’S AGREEMENT
(By Andrea Montague)
You’ll need
• The Gatsby barrel-aged coffee (£15, thegentlemenbaristas.com)
• Bulleit Bourbon (£24.70, masterofmalt.com)
• Roasted coconut and nutmeg syrup
• Orange blossom water
• Ice
• Pour-over or press coffee maker
To make
Brew the coffee and refrigerate. Build the drink in a high-ball tumbler, starting with the ice, followed by 80ml brewed coffee and 20ml syrup. Stir, then pour the bourbon in before adding a (tiny) drop of orange blossom water.
Tasting notes
Bulleit is distinctive among bourbons because it’s made with 30% rye-based spirit, which adds it a spicy note. On the nose, the orange blossom water elevates the drink in place of a garnish, but add only a very small amount as it’s often astringent. The coconut and nutmeg syrup adds sweetness, increases the body and fits nicely with the vanilla fragrance.
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COLD FACTS AND BITTER TRUTHS
(By Tim Ridley)
You’ll need
• Clifton Coffee Diima, Lot 4, Guji, Ethiopia (from £6.95, cliftoncoffee.co.uk)
• Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey (£35.95, thewhiskyexchange.com)
• Good tonic water, such as Fentimans
• Quality sea salt (about 1.5% mass weight of your coffee dose)
• Lime, to garnish
• Ice
• Cold-brew coffee maker, ideally cold drip
To make
Prepare the coffee in advance. If you’re using a cold-drip coffee maker, reduce the amount of coffee by about one-third, as the coffee bed will swell significantly, and adjust your ratios accordingly. Grind coarsely and add the salt. Set up your cold brew with the tonic (not water) and remember, over-extraction is better than under-extraction. The resulting brew should be more viscous than pour-over, taste a little salty, be invigoratingly bitter and have some of the coffee’s acidity while still maintaining its flavour profile, particularly the lime. Refrigerate before use.
“Typically, this brew takes a long time – around eight hours,” says Tim. “I give myself some wriggle room by pulling off the drip cold brew every three hours, as each part of the extraction has a different viscosity and flavour profile. I can then use the best section for the final serve.”
To serve
Serve in a tumbler, over plenty of ice, with roughly equal parts cold brew and whiskey. Garnish with lime zest and twist some zest over the glass to add oils and aromatics. Serve as a complete drink, but be prepared to provide samples of the cold brew and whiskey so your guests can understand the constituent parts.
Tasting notes
Green Spot has characteristic spiciness and peppermint and green apple notes. The bitter, salty and acidic cold brew balances the drink when cold and maintains crispness. Garnishing with lime maintains the coffee’s acidity and lime notes, and keeps it feeling refreshing and vibrant.
Coffee hack
If you don’t have the hours required to prepare this drink, pour roughly equal parts good tonic and a cold brew such as Sandows or Minor Figures into a glass with a pinch of salt. Stir, add a measure of Green Spot and serve over ice with the lime garnish.
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CONVICT’S ESCAPE
(By Tim Ridley)
You’ll need
• Climpson & Sons El Martillo El Salvador (£8.50, climpsonscoffee.com)
• Old Hobart Overeem Sherry Cask Matured Single Malt Whisky (£125, masterofmalt.com)
• Cinnamon stick
• Candied orange
• Orange, for garnish
• Orange bitters (or standard bitters)
• Syphon coffee maker
To make
Heat some filtered water to just under the boil. Place the cinnamon stick and candied orange into the lower chamber of the syphon, add the hot water and prepare a syphon coffee as normal. The cinnamon and orange will add flavour to the brew and complement its flavours. This is a greater piece of theatre at a dinner party and is as close to distilling as coffee-making gets.
To serve
You can serve this beverage three ways: with a wee nip of whiskey, a small portion of coffee or as a combined drink. The combined drink is essentially a hot toddy, but should ideally be presented in a cutglass tumbler or goblet. Add roughly equal measures of whisky and coffee to the glass, with slightly more coffee than whiskey. Add a single drop of the orange bitters and garnish with orange zest, remembering to twist some zest over the glass to add additional aromas and oils to the drink. The secret is to give your guests just enough of the constituent parts to whet their appetite.
Tasting notes
This single-cask, lightly peated whisky has a gentle smoky note that forms the base of the drink. The whisky is matured in sherry casks, which provides Christmas cake and dried fruit notes, including orange rind, but has a surprisingly light mouthfeel that is a reflection of the whisky’s Tasmanian production.
The pairing is based on the coffee’s orange zest note, which is enhanced by the candied orange, bitters and zest, and the acidity. As it’s served hot, it’s very aromatic, so make sure you dilute the whisky with at least an equal measure of coffee to prevent the booze overpowering it. It’s the perfect drink on a cold night.
Coffee hack
If you don’t have a syphon, you can brew the coffee using a pour-over or French press. Add the cinnamon stick, candied orange and bitters to the brew and leave to steep for several minutes. Strain the coffee and add to the glass with the whisky.
In "Caffeine - The Coffee lover's Magazine", USA, n. 23, October/November 2016 issue, excerpts pp. 20-25. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.
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