This Kentucky Bourbon Coffee is a Southern take on an Irish coffee, and is the perfect drink to keep you warm on chilly days. This caffeinated cocktail is made with freshly-brewed coffee, coffee liqueur, bourbon, and cream.
This post is sponsored by Drizly.
Last fall, on one of our Bourbon Trail escapades, the husband and I found ourselves dashing through a Lexington parking lot on a blustery, stormy day.
We hurried inside the Alltech distillery, toured the brewery and distillery, and relied on their bourbon tastings to keep us warm as we made our way to the different buildings in the tour.
The tour ended with their delicious, warming, smile-inducing Bluegrass Sundown– a bourbon-ized version of the classic Irish Coffee. When I came home, I was convinced that I could make my own bourbon-licious coffee!
This Kentucky Bourbon Coffee is the perfect winter cocktail– an easy-to-make, Southern version of the classic Irish coffee.
Can I Use Decaf Coffee?
Absolutely. Decaffeinated coffee is a perfectly acceptable solution to the “caffeinated cocktail conundrum.”
If you, like me, are somewhat “caffeine sensitive,” you may gaze at caffeinated cocktails in confusion. When does one drink these rich, earthy drinks?
If you’re like my husband– you drink them whenever you want, and never ever find yourself staring at the ceiling at 3am, cursing your poor caffeine-decision-making skills. If you’re like me, you drink them in the early afternoon, or swap the coffee out for decaf. (I’m wild and crazy like that, y’all.)
Once you’ve decided on regular or decaf coffee, and are ready to start cocktailing it up, you’re going to need some bourbon, coffee liqueur, a little sugar (if you want!), and cream.
Ordering From Drizly
Drizly*– my favorite liquor store on the go– provided the bourbon for this recipe.
If you, too, need bourbon– whether it’s to impress all your friends with your bartender skills or to responsibly sip bourbon with a decaf coffee– Drizly is on it!
Simply order your bourbon (here) and your coffee liqueur (here), and they’ll have you sipping away on a freshly made cocktail in less than an hour.
Kentucky Bourbon Coffee
Making Kentucky Bourbon Coffee
Once you’ve gathered all your ingredients, start mixing your cocktail!
Simply pour coffee into a mug (fill it about halfway), and add the bourbon and coffee liqueur. Stir it all up, and sweeten to taste.
How to Float Cream on a Cocktail
Next, hold a spoon, curved side up, against the inside rim of the mug. Pour the cream slowly over the spoon so that the cream settles on the top of the drink.
Serve immediately, and sip slowly to stay warm on even the most blustery days!
Kentucky Bourbon Coffee
Yields 1 cocktail
Ingredients
- 4-6 oz freshly brewed coffee
- 1 oz bourbon
- 1/2 oz coffee liqueur
- 1 tsp brown sugar (optional, sweeten to taste)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 oz heavy cream
Instructions
- Pour hot coffee, bourbon, vanilla, and coffee liqueur into a mug. Stir, and sweeten to taste with brown sugar (optional).
- Hold a small metal spoon, curved side up, against the inside wall of the mug and just above the coffee drink. Pour cream over spoon. (Spoon will help the cream remain mostly on the top of the drink). Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
This cocktail was inspired by Alltech’s ‘Bluegrass Sundown.’
We just toured through Kentucky and visited 3 bourbon distilleries there. Not only did I enjoy the bourbon but also those wonderful bourbon balls. I’m a bit of a coffee snob, which I freely admit, so this sounds like a match made in heaven.
Oh awesome! I love the Bourbon Trail 😀
I was never a big bourbon drinker but the hubby loves it. We are remodeling our kitchen and I had to move his bourbon collection. 64 bottles! That’s not including the ones that were empty and he was keeping the bottle because it is cool, but 64 actual bottles. I started drinking it with raspberry ginger ale (don’t judge it’s awesome) and bourbon cream over ice. I love the idea of bourbon and cream with coffee. It is getting cool here finally so I might be busting this out soon!
Thanks!!! And yes, sneak bourbon into all the things! 😀
When to drink a drink like this? Weekend mornings! Or, like you said, early afternoon or evening with decaf. I’m going to make these this morning for me and my hubby!
Enjoy!!!!
They were delicious!! I only included half the bourbon because I don’t like my alcohol super strong and bourbon is a very strong flavor to me. We both enjoyed these and will be making them again!
Awesome!!! I’m glad you loved it!
This is a drink that definitly can wake you up! Great with breakfast for dinner combo.
Haha! I love that you had it with breakfast 😁 Glad you liked!