With Fonté coffee beans and a bourbon base, Old Log Cabin’s coffee liqueur isn’t any old cuppa joe
While the legendary Italian caffè corretto — where espresso is “corrected” by the addition of grappa, sambuca or other liquor — is more talked about, I feel there’s an analogous American combo going back just as far: bourbon and coffee. In our frontier past, I’m sure cattle drives, logging camps and ranches galore were filled with folks adding a little bourbon to their coffee. Today, Old Log Cabin distillery is extending this tradition with their new Coffee Liqueur built on a bourbon base, a rare pairing today.
The idea for a coffee liqueur bubbled up when the Old Log Cabin team were discussing how to expand their offerings for a more boozily diverse tasting room. As Head Distiller Ben Capdevielle told us, he “immediately thought about a well-aged bourbon-based coffee liqueur,” inspiration hitting like a quickly downed shot. A coffee liqueur made in Seattle makes sense — as Capdevielle says, “this is coffee town USA, right?” But Old Log Cabin looked to set itself apart from other brew bottles on the liquor store shelves.
How? It starts with that bourbon base. Even recognizing those above-mentioned bourbon-and-coffee cowboys, a bottled bourbon-based coffee liqueur is unique. And this one uses Old Log Cabin’s award-winning bourbon, a blend of 4- and 5-year-old whiskeys with a mighty mash bill: 66% corn, 20% malt, 14% rye. The bourbon is united with coffee made from renowned (since 1992) local coffee roaster Fonté’s dark roasted Brazilian beans. Turns out, Old Log Cabin owner John Fisk is friends with Fonté founder and owner Paul Odom, so using Fonté was a natural choice.
That friendship wouldn’t matter if the coffee and bourbon didn’t click. But they go together perfectly, with the coffee’s “huge notes of chocolate, caramel and roasted nuts complementing the whiskey.” To craft the liqueur, Capdevielle makes a “rather rich cold brew coffee,” using one part coffee to eight parts water, “for blending the whiskey down from barrel strength.” This method lets both sides, coffee and bourbon, shine. It also keeps the liqueur’s ABV, or alcohol by volume, at a solid 25%. The coffee liqueur is a liqueur, so does have added sweetening — here in the form of natural Demerara sugar. However, as Capdevielle points out, most coffee liqueurs “use at least twice as much sugar,” which for him make them difficult to enjoy when sipped solo.
Would it pass the test on an 1800s prairie campfire? I certainly think so. When sipping, there’s a rich coffee nature on the nose backed by nutty undertones, and then that bourbon base provides spice, toffee and hazelnut that balance the robust coffee flavors Ben mentioned above, with a little hint of the campfire lingering – though maybe that was just because while having a glass it made me start daydreaming about just how good this coffee liqueur would be on a camping trip. Even if it’s just camping in the backyard. I guess those old cowpokes and loggers knew a thing or two about drinking after all.
Cocktailing with Old Log Cabin Coffee Liqueur
Distiller Capdevielle admits his favorite way to have Old Log Cabin Coffee Liqueur ($35 for a 750ml bottle) is by itself in a curvy Glencairn glass. It partners amiably within an array of cocktails and mixed drinks, too — as the below recipes demonstrate.
Old Log Cabin Coffee Old Fashioned
This is the distillery’s signature cocktail utilizing its liqueur, and it makes marvelous sense, pairing it with the bourbon on which it’s based. The herb notes from the bitters duo give it an ideal undercurrent. I say go with Scrappy’s Orange bitters here.
Ingredients
2 ounces Old Log Cabin Bourbon
1 ounces Old Log Cabin Coffee Liqueur
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
2 dashes Orange Bitters
¼ ounce rich Demerara simple syrup
Ice cubes
Orange peel, for garnish
Directions
Add three or four big ice cubes to an Old Fashioned glass (or a few more if smaller), then add all the liquid ingredients. Stir well. Capdevielle “likes to stir this drink over the same ice I’m going to drink it with to maintain the richness of the ingredients.” I’d follow his advice, before garnishing with the orange peel.
White Russian
This ’70s classic, which was created sometime mid-60s and had a Lebowski-driven revival in the late ’90s, sadly isn’t ordered as often in the 2020s. In my view, it remains a creamy treat to consider, especially if you use a full-flavored coffee liqueur.
Ingredients
2 ounces Batch 206 Vodka
1 ounce Old Log Cabin Coffee Liqueur
1 ounce heavy cream
Ice cubes
Directions
Fill a rocks glass or comparable glass three-quarters full of ice cubes — the bigger, the better. Add the vodka and liqueur. Stir briefly. Carefully pour the cream on top of its pals. Stir, but very gently, only to combine a touch.
The Mean Season
While containing some ingredients in common with the Old Fashioned above, some also shared with the Revolver (which is bourbon, coffee liqueur, and orange bitters), this cocktail adds Italian artichoke amaro Cynar and Scrappy’s Cardamon bitters. Those two spice-and-herbal delights mingle wonderfully with our other players.
Ingredients
1½ ounces Old Log Cabin Bourbon
1 ounce Old Log Cabin Coffee Liqueur
½ ounce Cynar
2 dashes Scrappy’s Orange Bitters
1 dash Scrappy’s Cardamom Bitters
Cracked ice
Lemon twist, for garnish
Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with ice cubes. Add everything but the twist. Stir well. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the twist.
The Castaway
This is a recipe from Jeff “Beachbum” Berry’s Grog Log (he being one of our modern tiki masters), and highlights the OId Log Cabin Coffee Liqueur’s versatility. Most people don’t think of coffee liqueur being a tiki standby, but it hulas prettily into a number of tropical drinks.
Ingredients
3 ounces pineapple juice
¾ ounces Old Log Cabin Coffee Liqueur
1½ ounces gold rum (Jamaican if possible)
Crushed ice
Cherry, for garnish
Pineapple chunk, for garnish
Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker three-quarters full with crushed ice. Add the juice, liqueur and rum. Shake well. Pour the whole thing, ice and all, into a pilsner glass. Garnish with the cherry and pineapple.
Feature images courtesy Old Log Cabin and Feed It Creative
