Espressotini’s were one of my favourites when I still drank alcohol. And although I have found great mixers to make my favourite drinks ‘without the next-day regrets’ with, the Virgin Espressotini recipes I found (for non-alcoholic coffee cocktails) did not really do it for me. Sooo I decided to experiment with my stash of mixers and various coffee-making devices we have at the house. It turns out I just needed a jar, brown sugar, water and some patience (besides my already purchased stash – see the pic of my solely non-alcoholic drinks bar cart below).
FIRST STEP – The Coffee ☕️
First I made some strong and sweet cold brew coffee. To do this, I put a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar, a few heaped spoons of ground coffee (I used [MBP_AA_LINK “MBP_AA_LINK_ILLY”]) and cold water in a mason jar. Then I put the lid on, gave it a good shake and left it in the fridge overnight. It is important not to go light on the coffee as you need this mixture to be quite strong. Otherwise, when you shake it with the ice, it can get quite watery.
NEXT STEP – The Mixer
Next, I experimented with some mixers. Anything I tried with a herby finish just left the Espressotini tasting really funky. So I went with 2 different Lyre’s products (Lyre´s is an Australian company that has an exquisite range of lovingly crafted non-alcoholic spirits – I am a big fan!) and ended up making these 2 versions:
- First one was with the Lyre’s Spiced Cane Spirit, to which I added my coffee mixture and shook it with ice. Which was nice BUT, add a measure of cream from the fridge, give it another shake and OMG, it’s like a Virgin Baileys Espressotini, yum!
- Then for a more traditional version, I used the [MBP_AA_LINK “MBP_AA_LINK_LYRESMALT”] which gave the drink a great flavour. Although this is where I learned about the importance of having a really strong coffee mixture! As when you shake the American Malt with the coffee mixture and the ice (which you need to do to get the froth) it got a bit watery so I upped the strength of the coffee. After which this second version of a non-alcoholic Espressotini was also quite successful. More coffee-ish & obvs less creamy than the first version.
THE RESULT
So my hunt for the perfect non-alcoholic coffee cocktail is completed… I am véry happy with this delicious non-alcoholic coffee cocktail. The No Baileys Espressotini is my new favourite!!✨
