Some nights you just need something to relax with. Something rich and smooth, with a little kick to it. A dessert drink, if you will. While popular, they are not something you see very often on the modern menu. Not many people look to a special cocktail as a dessert. A nice Scotch or cognac, a sweet sip of port or sherry, or maybe a digestif will find its way to a table. Coffee is also a popular way to end a meal. A short cup of coffee either compliments a dessert being served or is a warm drink to help in the digestion process. You may make it an Irish Coffee, a Bailey's and Coffee, or add a little nip of something to the mix, but nothing complex. The end of a meal usually calls for something simple and easy to enjoy.
The Dublin Iced Coffee by Soda and Swine ends up being something a little more complex to enjoy at the end of the night. It is not enough to mix a nice stout into the coffee; they added a little Irish Whiskey to the mix as well. Drizzle a little cream on top of it, and you have a drink that is dessert and after dinner cocktail all in one.
Dublin Irish Coffee (by Soda and Swine)
2 oz./ 60 mL cold brewed coffee
2 oz./ 60 mL stout (I used my favorite, Founders Breakfast Stout)
1.5 oz./ 45 mL Irish whiskey
.75 oz./ 22 mL simple syrup
.5 oz./ 15 mL heavy cream
Glass: Highball
Garnish: Cinnamon powder
Ice: Cubed
Mix the coffee, stout, Irish whiskey, and simple syrup in a highball glass. Add ice, then gently pour the cream over the mixture so it sinks in ribbons through the drink. Dust the cinnamon over the finished piece then serve.
So. Much. Coffee. And such good coffee. The darker roast in most stouts pair well with coffee flavors, which makes this whole cocktail just a glorious indulgence of coffee flavor. Approach it like you were making coffee in the morning. The coffee I used was a little sweetened, so the extra simple syrup, in retrospect, was not necessary. The added Irish whiskey is just for kick; I did not detect much of it in the mix. Now excuse me while I sink into the rest of this cocktail.