10 Coffee Cocktail Recipes

Coffee is a morning beverage that keeps us awake and energized, and even in the evenings. Apart from hot and iced coffee, there is another coffee drink called coffee cocktails. These drinks are a combination of bittersweet coffee and sweet liqueur that will have anyone hooked and enjoying it! You can enjoy them as an afternoon pick-me-up or as dessert, as long as you can handle the caffeine.

Here are the best ways for you to enjoy coffee as a cocktail! Some of these drinks used brewed coffee, and others used coffee liqueur. Whatever the case, if you love coffee, you will love these coffee cocktails more!

1. Espresso Martini

For coffee lovers out there! Here is the cocktail that you will love! Meet Espresso Martini. This drink is the ideal pick-me-up afternoon drink if you feel lazy or an after-dinner drink. You can even have it as a dessert. The bittersweet coffee pairs perfectly with the rich sweetness of the coffee liqueur. Add your desired amount of vodka, and it makes a full-flavored sophisticated drink that tastes like much more than the sum of its parts. 

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. (4 tablespoons) vodka
• 0.75 oz. (1.5 tablespoons) Kahlua or coffee liqueur
• 1 oz. (2 tablespoons) warm espresso or strong coffee
• Coffee beans, for the garnish

Instructions:

1. Make the espresso in an espresso maker or an Aeropress or make a robust coffee.
2. Add the vodka, Kahula, and espresso to a cocktail shaker and fill it with ice. Shake vigorously until cold.
3. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with coffee beans.

2. White Russian

No time to make complicated cocktail drinks? Here is one you can do in just 2 minutes - the White Russian. This is a cocktail mix of vodka and coffee liqueur with cream making it a decadently creamy and sweet beverage. An easy-to-make drink that will make you want for more.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. (4 tablespoons) vodka
• 1 oz. (2 tablespoons) Kahlua (or other coffee liqueur)
• 1 oz. (2 tablespoons) heavy cream
• Ice, for serving (try clear ice)

Instructions:

1. Add the vodka and Kahlua to a lowball glass. Fill it with ice.
2. Top with the cream. Stir until cold (or stir just a bit to get the swirl effect).

3. Classic Irish Coffee

Love a little booze on your coffee? Then you can make Irish Coffee. There’s nothing more soul-warming than the classic combination of bitter coffee, buttery whisky, and frothy whipped cream. There are other variations you can do with this cocktail, but today’s recipe will be the classic Irish coffee.

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. hot coffee
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1.5 oz. Irish whiskey: Jameson or other
• Sweetened whipped cream, whipped to soft peaks (or vegan whipped cream for dairy-free)

Instructions:

1. Make the coffee using your favorite method.
2. Make the homemade whipped cream, making sure to whip to soft peaks.
3. Add the coffee to a glass or Irish coffee mug, leaving about an inch at the top for cream. Stir in the sugar and whiskey until the sugar dissolves.
4. Gently float the whipped cream on top using the back of a spoon.

4. Kahlua Coffee

Kahlua coffee works anytime: use it as a pick-me-up for morning brunch or top it with whipped cream for a boozy dessert! Anything goes here. The sweet coffee-flavored liqueur works well with coffee that can be enjoyed any time of the day! You can do a lot of variation with this drink.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (8 oz.) coffee
• 2 tablespoons (1 oz.) Kahlua
• 1 drizzle heavy cream (optional)

Instructions:

1. Make 1 cup of coffee using your favorite method (try Chemex, Aeropress, or an Americano with 2 oz. extra water).
2. Add the Kahlua and cream and stir. Enjoy immediately!

5. Bushwacker Drink

Want a frozen cocktail that will blow your mind? It is creamy with a chocolatey flavor. Introducing the Bushwacker Drink. The Bushwacker is a mashup of chocolate milkshake and piña colada. Lusciously smooth with notes of chocolate, coffee, and vanilla. The perfect drink for sipping poolside or as a dessert drink for the summer or when you feel like dreaming of the sun.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. (1/4 cup) aged rum (or white or dark)
• 2 oz. Kahlua
• 2 oz. creme de cacao (white or dark; we used white)
• 2 oz. cream of coconut
• 2 oz. 2% milk
• 3 cups ice
• For the garnish: Shaved chocolate or grated nutmeg, cocktail cherry (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Garnish with shaved chocolate or grated nutmeg, if desired. Add straws and serve. (You can stir with the straw when the drink starts to separate.)

6. Spanish Coffee

Is Spanish Coffee from Spain? It is not a Spanish coffee but a spin on the Spanish concept of carajillo: spiked coffee. This drink is more special because it has caramelized sugar rim and spiked with Kahlua, rum, and orange liqueur. The best part is that it’s topped with a hand-whipped fluffy whipped cream. The combination of burnt caramel, citrus, bitter coffee, and sweet cream are all in harmony of flavor. If you like that, you should try this recipe!

Ingredients:

• 3 oz. coffee
• 2 oz. Kahlua
• 0.5 oz. Triple Sec (or other orange liqueur)
• 0.5 oz. aged rum (or white or dark)
• Granulated sugar, for dipping the glass
• Lemon wedge
• 1 large spoonful sweetened whipped cream (or vegan whipped cream), whipped to soft peaks
• For the garnish: grated chocolate or fresh grated or ground nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Make the coffee. Allow it to cool slightly while preparing the drink.
2. Make the homemade whipped cream, whipping it to soft peaks.
3. Use a lemon wedge to wet a 1/2-inch of the rim of the glass and dip the outside in sugar to make a 1/2-inch band. 
4. Use a kitchen torch to caramelize the outside of the glass until the sugar turns brown. 
5. Add the coffee, Kahlua, triple sec, and rum and stir once. 
6. Gently float the whipped cream on top using the back of a spoon. Garnish with grated chocolate or nutmeg.

7. Black Russian

A cool sweet treat in the form of a cocktail - the Black Russian! A classic cocktail from the 50’s that is perfect for dinner or an afternoon pick-me-up. You only need 2 ingredients for this, and it almost tastes like dessert. 

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. (4 tablespoons) vodka
• 1 oz. (2 tablespoons) Kahlua
• Ice, for serving (try clear ice)
• For the garnish: cocktail cherry (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add the vodka and Kahlua to a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir until cold.
2. Strain the drink into an ice filled lowball glass. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.

8. Coffee Martini

Coffee lovers! A cocktail drink with caffeine for you. This is Coffee Martini! A smooth, frothy, and creamy drink, with crunchy coffee bean rim. Each sip is a burst of flavor with bitter coffee and sweet vanilla, creamy chocolate and fruity finish of Irish whiskey. Ideal drink for coffee addicts.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. coffee, slightly cooled (use decaf if desired)
• 1 oz. vodka
• 0.5 oz. Kahlua (or other coffee liqueur like Tia Maria or Sheridan’s)
• 0.5 oz. Irish cream (Bailey’s or other)
• For the rim: equal parts finely ground coffee beans and granulated sugar, for the garnish

Instructions:

1. Make the coffee, using your favorite method (pour over, Aeropress or other).
2. Wet the rim of the cocktail glass. Place the finely ground coffee beans and sugar on a plate and tilt the outside rim of the glass into the mixture so that it coats the outer rim. 
3. Place the coffee, vodka, Kahlua, and Irish cream in a cocktail shaker. Add 2 handfuls of ice and shake until cold. Strain into the prepared cocktail glass. 

9. Carajillo (Mexican Spiked Coffee)

A cocktail popular in Spain and the Latin America but most famous in Mexico - the Carajillo. Made with Licor 43, one sip and you will taste the sweet vanilla, chocolate, and citrus notes from the Licor. You will taste the bitter, rich notes of the coffee. Truly a match made in heaven.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. espresso (or very strong coffee), cooled slightly
• 1.5 oz. Licor 43
• Ice, for serving (try clear ice)

Instructions:

1. Make the espresso.
2. Add ice to a lowball. Add the Licor 43 and stir. 
3. Slowly pour the coffee over a bar spoon into the drink, which will settle on top. Serve immediately. 

10. Amaretto Coffee

A hundred percent irresistible cocktail that’s part drink and part dessert - the Amaretto Coffee. The amaretto brings nuttiness and spice to the coffee that’s hard to quantify in words. It is topped with frothy whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon that is truly to die for.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. (1 cup) coffee
• 1 oz. (2 tablespoons) amaretto
• For serving: Homemade whipped cream (or vegan whipped cream)
• Cinnamon, for dusting

Instructions:

1. Make the whipped cream.
2. Make the coffee (pourover, Aeropress or your favorite coffee method).
3. Mix the coffee and amaretto. Top with whipped cream and serve.

These coffee recipes are not only fit for your caffeine fix but also for your daily dose of alcohol. Coffee, liqueurs, and some alcohol go well together and they create a new flavor of drinks that you can enjoy at any time of the day. Try these recipes and make your afternoon and pre-dinner a cocktail time of the day.