What are the Best Coffee Cocktails?

Alcohol and coffee: a combination that can definitely get divisive at times. Some revel in the flavours, some will remind you that ‘you’ll pay for mixing alcohol and caffeine’. Let’s forget about the sensible tutters for a second and talk about all the good that can come from a perfectly constructed coffee cocktail.

From an Espresso Martini to a simple Irish coffee, there’s a lot to unpack and enjoy in the world of boozy coffee drinks. Here are our favourites and some recipes to go along with them! 

Espresso Martini

Ingredients
60ml Black Cow Pure Milk Vodka
15ml Kahlúa
30ml freshly brewed, cooled espresso
15ml simple syrup
3 coffee beans for garnish

Method
Add vodka, Kahlúa, espresso and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with 3 coffee beans in the centre of the glass (ideally with tweezers or tongs).

Black Cow Pure Milk Vodka: UK £27.05
Kahlúa: UK £18.75 // US $30.99 

Coffee Old Fashioned

Ingredients
60ml Bulleit Bourbon
15ml St. George Nola Coffee Liqueur
7ml simple syrup
2 dash orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
twist of orange for garnish

Method
Pour the bourbon, coffee liqueur, simple syrup and bitters into a mixing glass. Fill the mixing glass three quarters full with ice. Stir for 30 seconds until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube and garnish with a twist of orange.

Bulleit Bourbon: UK £30.90 // US $37.99 
St. George Nola Coffee Liqueur: UK £35.50 // US $34.99

Irish Coffee

Ingredients
¾ mug hot coffee
45ml The Sexton Single Malt Whiskey
5-10ml maple syrup
whipped cream

Method
Pour the whiskey and 1 teaspoon of maple syrup into a heatproof mug or glass and add a splash of the hot coffee. Stir until the maple syrup has dissolved. Pour the rest of the coffee into the mug and taste. Add more maple syrup if you would like a sweeter coffee. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

The Sexton Single Malt: UK £28.84 // US $23.99

White Russian

Ingredients
60ml shots vodka
30ml Tia Maria
1 splash heavy cream

Method
Add the vodka and Tia Maria to an ice filled rocks glass. Top with the heavy cream and stir until chilled. Enjoy!

Tia Maria: UK £21.05 // US $43.99 

Spanish Coffee

Ingredients
90ml strong freshly brewed, cooled coffee
60ml Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
15ml Cointreau
15ml aged rum
granulated sugar (for the rim)
lemon wedge
whipped cream
grated chocolate
kitchen torch

Method
Brew the coffee and allow it to cool slightly. Use the lemon wedge to wet a ½ inch of the outer rim of the heatproof glass and dip the rim in granulated sugar. Carefully use a kitchen torch to caramelise the sugar and turn it brown. Add the Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur, Cointreau, rum and coffee to the glass and stir once. Add whipped cream and garnish with chocolate shavings.

Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur: UK £29.95 // US $31.99
Cointreau: UK £25.95 // US $60.99

Amaretto Coffee

Ingredients
100ml strong freshly brewed coffee
50ml Lazzaroni Amaretto
whipped cream
maple syrup

Method
Add the amaretto to the freshly brewed coffee in a heatproof mug or glass. Top with whipped cream and garnish with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Lazzaroni Amaretto: UK £22 // US $34.99

Are you a lover of coffee flavoured drinks? If so, make sure you check out The Best Vodka for an Espresso Martini and STRYKK: Not R*M Espresso Martini!

The Best Cocktails to Make with Scotch Whisky

While beautiful taken neat, Scotch needn’t stay lonely in a glass. Don’t shy away from being a bit creative, either, as Scotch is a lot more versatile than you might first think. Whether you’re going for a traditional Whisky Sour or spicing up a Bloody Mary, try Scotch in a cocktail today!

Bloody Scotsman

This classic cocktail is normally made with vodka, but adding Scotch gives it a fiery kick that can tackle the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Don’t forget the all important celery!

Ingredients:
45ml Scotch whisky
90ml tomato juice
15ml lemon juice
1 dash Tabasco
2 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
celery, for garnish

Method:
Add Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to a highball glass. Pour all other ingredients in, add ice and stir. Garnish with a celery stick and enjoy! 

Scotch Sour

The classic we know and love dearly, a Scotch Sour never fails to liven up an evening. If you want to make this vegan, you can either leave out the egg white for a No-Foam Sour, or swap it for a tablespoon and a half of aquafaba (that’s the juice out of a chickpea can!).

Ingredients:
50ml Scotch whisky
25ml fresh lemon juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 egg white
twist of orange, for garnish

Method:
Add all ingredients to a shaker with no ice and shake. Add ice and shake for 15 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with a twist of orange.

Scotch Paloma

A Paloma probably isn’t the first cocktail you’d jump to when thinking about Scotch - Mexico and Scotland don’t exactly have the same atmosphere. However, swapping out a reposado or añejo tequila for Scotch keeps that same caramel richness while adding an interesting twist to this Mexican classic. If you don’t have spicy honey, regular is fine! 

Ingredients:
35ml Scotch whisky
35ml grapefruit juice
35ml spicy honey
club soda
grapefruit slice, for garnish

Method:
Add all ingredients but club soda to an ice-filled glass and stir. Once chilled, top with soda water and garnish with a grapefruit slice. Enjoy!

Rusty Nail

Don’t worry, you don’t need to search through your medical files to see if you’ve had a tetanus jab to drink this cocktail. This kind of Rusty Nail is the ultimate Scotch cocktail of days gone by. So, pull out that bottle of Drambuie Scotch whisky liqueur and give it a go! 

Ingredients:
60ml Scotch whisky
15ml Drambuie 

Method:
Add all ingredients to an ice-filled mixing glass and stir until well chilled. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and enjoy! 

The Godfather

Named after the iconic 1972 film, The Godfather cocktail adds a welcome bit of Italian flair to a classic Scotch. While the nutty Amaretto slightly softens the whisky, the almond-flavoured liqueur doesn’t take away any of the flavour. This recipe calls for quite exact measurements, but the ratio is really up to you and your personal tastes, so don’t take it by the book. This cocktail is an offer you can’t refuse.

Ingredients:
60ml blended Scotch whisky|
7ml Amaretto

Method:
Add all ingredients to an ice-filled mixing glass and stir until well chilled. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and enjoy! 

Blood & Sand

This cocktail is another Scotch cocktail that has been around for eons, first appearing in 1930! At first, the ingredients might baffle you - orange juice, cherry liqueur AND Scotch - but once you’ve tried it you’ll know what all the fuss is about! Stay away from very smoky Scotches for this recipe, and fresh orange juice is a MUST. 

Ingredients:
20ml Scotch whisky
20ml sweet vermouth
20ml cherry liqueur
20ml freshly squeezed orange juice
twist of orange, for garnish 

Method:
Add all ingredients to an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake until chilled. Strain into a coupe or martini glass and garnish with a twist of orange. Enjoy! 

Flying Scotsman

Named after the famous steam train, the Flying Scotsman is a cocktail allegedly served to first-class passengers on the train, which broke the record for the first steam train to reach 100mph! Both simple and delicious, this cocktail will make you feel like a first-class mixologist when you master it.

Ingredients:
50ml Scotch whisky
45ml sweet vermouth
5ml sugar syrup
2 dash Angostura bitters
black cherry, for garnish 

Method:
Stir all ingredients in a cocktail glass with ice. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass, preferably over a large ice cube. Garnish with a black cherry. Up, up and away!

For more cocktail inspiration be it gin, vodka, tequila or whisk(e)y click here!

One Drink, Three Ways: The Glenturret 10 Year Old Peat Smoked

One Drink, Three Ways is the signature feature by The Three Drinkers. Join The Three Drinkers’ Helena, Aidy and Colin as they take one bottle and create a trio of phenomenal serves which you can enjoy anytime, anywhere. From rums and whiskies to gins and wine styles, the three help you get the most out of your glass. It’s time to get liquid on lips.

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Although most usually associated with Islay Scotch, peat smoke and whisky has a long history at The Glenturret as it used to feature heavily in distilling traditions, with records showing peat being dug from Octhertye Estate in the early 1800s. Nowadays, The Glenturret are in the lucky, rare position of being able to produce both peated and non-peated spirits at different times of the year from the same small stills. This 10 year old single malt version is incredibly mellow and sweet with an elegant smokiness that does not blow your head off!

Sip it alone or try one of these serves:

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Helena’s Choice: A Smokin’ Word

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I love a sweet and sour cocktail and this one feels so deliciously retro! It’s a new take on the Last Word cocktail and was invented by Kyle Jamieson from Panda & Sons in Edinburgh. The smokiness of the peat does something fascinating with the cherry and it’s one that looks as good as it tastes. Simply shake all the ingredients together with ice, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with cocktail cherries.

A Smokin’ Word

Recipe

35ml The Glenturret 10 Years Old Peat Smoked

20ml Yellow Chartreuse

20ml Maraschino Cherry Liqueur

20 ml lemon juice

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Aidy’s Choice: Smoky Whisky Sour

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You know me and my sours. I love them! Often I like to experiment with fruit and garnishes but sometimes, simplicity is what’s called for. This is a classic whisky sour with no frills, using egg white to get that silky texture. Firstly, add all the ingredients into the shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Then strain back into the shaker to remove the ice and have a vigorous dry shake to fluff up the egg white. Strain into an old fashioned glass and garnish with a lemon or orange twist.

Smoky Whisky Sour

Recipe

60ml The Glenturret 10 Years Old Peat Smoked

30ml Fresh Lemon Juice

25ml Sugar Syrup

1 Egg white

2 Dashes Angostura bitters

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Colin’s Choice: Stirred Smoky Martini

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Those of you who know me know I'm a bit of a whisky purist, but I can’t resist a smoky, dry Martini. It uses a dash of peated Scotch whisky with the gin instead of Vermouth, so it is particularly dry and aromatic. I’d go for a large splash of whisky around 15ml but play around to suit your taste. Simply Stir the gin, whisky and a little ice together in a glass (stirring keeps it crystal clear and smooth), then strain and pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with your lemon or orange twist.

Stirred Smoky Martini

Recipe

15ml The Glenturret 10 Years Old Peat Smoked

60ml Any premium gin

Lemon twist for garnish

Like this? Check our our other One Drink, Three Ways pieces: Noilly Prat Vermouth, Tanqueray Gin and The Macallan 12.

Passionstar Martini

Originally known as the Pornstar Martini, this delicious cocktail debuted in the early 2000s and quickly rose up the ‘top cocktail’ charts to sit where it does today. Not only is it delicious with the tart tropical fruit pairing perfectly with the sweet vanilla sugar syrup, but it is also a brilliant conversation starter due to both its vibrant yellow colour and the fact that it comes with a friend, most commonly a Champagne or prosecco shot.

How do you drink a Passionstar/ Pornstar Martini?

There seems to be a fair bit of confusion over how to drink both drinks… do you shot the sparkling wine down? Do you drink one before the other? Do you drink them at the same time?! Well, here at 3DHQ we like to suggest you have a sip of the passionfruit cocktail first and follow it up with the sparkling wine as it will act as a bit of a palate cleanser in between sips. However you choose to drink it though, you won’t be disappointed!

Here is our favourite recipe…

Ingredients

1 ripe passion fruit, halved
30ml vodka
30ml fresh passionfruit puree
10ml sugar syrup (we recommend vanilla)
Prosecco, to serve

Method

Scoop the seeds from half of the passion fruit into the tin of a cocktail shaker, add the vodka, passion fruit puree, and sugar syrup. Add a handful of ice and shake well, strain into a martini glass and add a wedge of passion fruit to each. Serve with a shot of prosecco.

Looking for some other fruity cocktails? Then how about trying The Marmalade Sour or a Flirtini instead?

Flirtini

Enjoying the last romantic dregs of summer and looking to catch a cute date for autumn cosy evenings? Heck, even if you’re reading this in winter or spring, we have the perfect ‘romantic evening’ cocktail for you, so, without further ado get your flirt on with this bubbly and fruity twist on a Cosmopolitan:

The Flirtini (Serves 2, obviously...)

Ingredients

50ml 100% pineapple juice
25ml Cointreau
50ml Chapel Down Chardonnay Vodka
Veuve Monsigny Champagne (to top)
slice of pineapple for garnish

Method
Add pineapple juice, Chapel Down vodka and Cointreau to an ice filled mixing glass. Stir until chilled and strain into two martini or coupe glasses. Top up with Veuve Monsigny Champagne and garnish with pineapple. Give one to your significant other and enjoy the other yourself!

Top Tip: Mix this up just before serving so the Champagne doesn’t lose its bubbles.

Want another variation? Try this pink version:

Pink Flirtini (Serves 2, obviously...)

Ingredients

25ml 100% pineapple juice
25ml 100% unsweetened cranberry juice
12.5ml Cointreau
50ml Absolut Raspberri Vodka
Waitrose Champagne Rosé NV (to top)
2 dashes lime juice
raspberries (for garnish)

Method
Add pineapple juice, cranberry juice, Absolut Raspberri Vodka, lime juice and Cointreau to an ice filled mixing glass. Stir until chilled and strain into two martini or coupe glasses. Top up with Waitrose Champagne Rosé NV and garnish with raspberries. Give one to your significant other and enjoy the other yourself!

Ingredient List:

Cointreau: A classic orange liqueur that is an essential staple in any home bar.

ABV: 40%
Size: 700ml
Find here: £25.99

Chapel Down Vodka: A lovely, citrus blossom vodka with a nice alcohol bite. Delicious in fruity and citrus cocktails!

ABV: 40%
Size: 700ml
Find it here: £29.55

Veuve Monsigny Champagne: An award winning, great value Champagne which is a credit to Aldi.

ABV: 12%
Size: 750ml
Find here: £13.49

Absolut Raspberri Vodka: Rich and intense but fabulously fruity, Absolut Raspberri is perfect for the Pink Flirtini!

ABV: 40%
Size: 700ml
Find it here: £22.30

Waitrose Champagne Rosé NV: Fruity and easy to drink, making it a great choice for cocktails!

ABV: 12.5%
Size: 750ml
Find it here: £26.99

For more delicious cocktails how about trying a Rosé and Grapefruit Sparkle or a Strawberry Gin Sour?

One Drink, Three Ways: The Glenturret Triple Wood

One Drink, Three Ways is the signature feature by The Three Drinkers. Join The Three Drinkers’ Helena, Aidy and Colin as they take one bottle and create a trio of phenomenal serves which you can enjoy anytime, anywhere. From rums and whiskies to gins and wine styles, the three help you get the most out of your glass. It’s time to get liquid on lips.

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The Glenturret Triple Wood Scotch whisky is the perfect continuation of Glenturret’s long whisky history, being part of the older range and then reborn into the new. It’s a delightfully subtle, golden whisky that’s light on its feet with lots of ripe, fruity notes with sweetly spiced aromas thanks to a combination of European and American Sherry oak casks with Bourbon barrels. Try it alone to sip and savour or give it a go in one of these fantastic serves.

The Three Drinkers each share their favourite ways to taste it….

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Helena’s Choice: Vanilla Highball

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Highballs are back as new generations discover whisky in an accessible way before hitting the stuff neat. The Vanilla highball is a long serve that’s incredibly simple to make at home. Here’s a refreshing version with a twist to bring out those beautiful sweet spice flavours from the wood casks: Simply pour the whisky into a highball glass topped up with ice, splash in some vanilla bitters (to taste) and top up with cream soda. Garnish with a slice of orange or a vanilla pod if you have one. 

The ‘Vanilla Highball’

Recipe

25ml The Glenturret Triple Wood 

200ml Cream soda

Ice

Orange slice or vanilla pod for garnish

Highball glass

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Aidy’s Choice: Pineapple Whisky Sour

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Whisky cocktails don’t have to be heavy, dark affairs; there are tonnes of lighter, fruity options too. Here’s a particular serve that I consider my TGIF drink (Thank God It’s Friday!) or quite frankly, any time I’m just in the mood for a little pick me up! Method: place the sugar, whisky, lemon juice, pineapple juice and egg white into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously for 15-30 seconds. Strain into an old fashioned cocktail glass and serve.

Pineapple Whisky Sour

Recipe

60ml The Glenturret Triple Wood 

25ml Lemon juice 

25ml Pineapple juice 

1 egg white

2 tsp Caster sugar

Pineapple wedge to garnish (optional)

Glass tumbler

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Colin’s Choice: The Rob Roy

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Here’s one for fans of a classic Manhattan but with a Scotch whisky twist! Originally created in 1894 at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel and was named after the opera Roby Roy that was premiering in New York at the time. Method: Stir all the ingredients together in a mixing glass with ice, then pour into the coup. Garnish with an orange twist or a maraschino cherry.

The Rob Roy

Recipe

50ml The Glenturret Triple Wood 

30ml Martini Rosso Sweet Vermouth

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Like this? Check our our other One Drink, Three Ways pieces: Noilly Prat Vermouth, Tanqueray Gin and The Macallan 12.

The Tegroni

We love a Negroni here at The Three Drinkers, the boozy bitterness an indulgent treat for a dark evening. This mesmerising red cocktail is one of the world’s most treasured, and its simplicity is marvelled at by home drinkers and bartenders alike.

In the most recent wave of Negroni-mania, we’ve seen a lot of experimentation going on. But why mess with perfection? Oh no, it’s not messing. Those who condemn deviating from the norm seem to have forgotten the history of Negroni. Count Camillo Negroni, obviously tired out after a long day of being a Count, asked a bartender to strengthen his Americano cocktail. Soda water was replaced with gin and the world gave a collective, peaceful nod of approval as the Negroni was born.

“So, where should I start?” we hear you cry. Well, why not go for a super popular, funky variation of the Negroni: the Tegroni. A portmanteau of Tequila and Negroni, the Tegroni is an exotic variation of a Negroni with the gin swapped out for blanco tequila. Tequila balances out the Campari perfectly and brings out some earthy tones.

Here’s our favourite recipe:

Ingredients

25ml blanco tequila
25ml sweet vermouth
25ml Campari
grapefruit twist for garnish

Method

Add ingredients to a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir for 20-30 seconds until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass. Add large ice cubes and garnish with a twist of grapefruit.

For more variations of a Negroni have a look at The Best Negroni Cocktail Recipes and if you’re wanting to check out other cocktail recipes, there are plenty here!

Piña Colada Flavoured Cheese!

Pineapple on pizza? We’ll allow it. Cranberries in cheese? You can pass. Figs in a salad? Sure. Piña Colada flavoured cheese? Uh….. Let us think about that for a second.

Yes. It’s real. Piña Colada Wensleydale, along with its siblings Espresso Martini Wensleydale and Peach Bellini Wensleydale, is hurtling towards us at an alarming rate, flung from the Aldi shopping baskets of the British public. Though Aldi triumphs with their Organic Prosecco (check out our rating here), we’re not totally confident these cocktail flavoured cheeses are going to be as much of a hit. 

If you are a fan of pineapple on pizza (a highly political debate in which we are remaining a neutral party), cheese and pineapple together may not be so alien to you at all. You might even be excited for this cheese to come out. The Peach Bellini doesn’t seem too awful either, with dried peaches a fairly typical accompaniment to a cheese board anyway. Perhaps Aldi may have even made a winner! Oh, wait... 

Espresso Martini Wensleydale. All one needs to know is right there, in that nightmare inducing title. Embedded with chocolate covered coffee beans, there seems to be no feasible scenario where this cheese is appetising. Unless, for that matter, you already coat coffee beans in chocolate and stick them into your Wensleydale. In that case, congratulations and welcome to heaven. 

Even with the utter strangeness of these flavour combinations, we’re actually quite excited they’re here. The entire collection feels like an idea Wallace of Wallace and Gromit jotted down after a hard night of 2 for 1 at the bar. The only question that prevails is this - are we now approaching cheese flavoured cocktails?

Enjoyed reading this? Why not check out Cocktails for Dogs or Dill Pickle Hard Seltzer?