COFFEE
A non-alcoholic espresso martini from Lyre’s
ESPRESS(O) YOURSELF
A
ustralia has an undisputed obsession with coffee culture, with it even being a cornerstone of the longstanding Melbourne vs Sydney argument. And with the country being the 15th largest consumer of coffee in the world, it makes sense that the elegant and diverse flavours of the new styles of coffee are integrating themselves in the drinking habits of Australians, with the opportunity for retailers in both on- and offpremise to be cashing in. A white paper produced by The Future Laboratory in conjunction with one of the originals in the coffee liqueur stakes, Tia Maria, has found this to be based on a concept they have dubbed the ‘third wave of coffee’. This movement has been driven predominantly by millennial consumers, who want to experience coffee in a multitude of ways – espresso, cold drip, latte, even deconstructed – all in an effort to experience the different flavours and aromas that can be found within high quality coffee. This experience has filtered through to coffee’s brethren, coffee liqueur. The explosion of new and exciting styles of coffee liqueur
32 | JUNE 2019 NATIONAL LIQUOR NEWS
The Australian coffee culture continues to grow in quality and diversity and so too does our taste for interesting and high quality alcoholic coffee drinks, as Amy Hayes discovers.
from both craft and commercial outlets has opened the door for consumers to experience coffee liqueur on their own terms and for their own tastes. And the use of different base spirits has developed a wider and more exciting range of drinking experiences for consumers. “Coffee is being crafted into ingredients rather than being used as a singular flavour component in a cocktail,” said Union Hand Roasted Coffee’s Cocktail Expert David Jameson. “This kind of experimentation will drive resurgence in interest in coffee cocktails, and create exciting new flavours and combinations.” And the market is most definitely picking up on these trends, with a multitude of options becoming available to retailers.
At the base of the spirit The original spirit that has been used with great success has been rum: a spirit that has the power and nuance to stand up to such an intense flavour as coffee, while its mellow and soft notes of vanilla and molasses have been able to offer liqueurs such as Tia Maria a luxurious smoothness. This creates a drink that
offers as pleasurable an experience over ice as it does within an Espresso Martini. This match of coffee and rum can be seen elsewhere in the market with a relative newcomer, Spresso by powerhouse Flor de Caña. It utilises Nicaraguan premium highland coffee variety Caturra blended with seven year old Flor de Caña rum. Merlin Jerebine from Vanguard Luxury Brands suggests an enjoyable an easy blend for consumers to try is the Bourbon Black Russian, a take on the classic Black Russian with equal parts American whiskey and Spresso topped with a good splash of Cola. Another player in the coffee liqueur category that utilises the complementary flavourings of a rum-like spirit in their blend is Kahlua. Kahlua uses a combination of sugar cane spirit and distillate, similar to rum to create their liqueur. Hailing from Mexico, Kahlua is one of the original houses to offer coffee liqueur to a global market being a go-to for occasions from bars to house parties since 1936. One of the unique elements that make Kahlua a particularly special drink is its