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!
*Also Note: Drizly is still growing and has a limited delivery area. Check out their site for more details.
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Kentucky Bourbon Coffee
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.
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
*Calorie Information does not include optional sugar.
This cocktail was inspired by Alltech’s ‘Bluegrass Sundown.’
good old bourbon coffee… I am so going to make this one of these days. The heavy cream makes it all the more a smashing winter drink.. Thanks for the great share!
I love bourbon and often will use it over whiskey when making Irish Coffees. I absolutely love the addition of coffee liquor! That’s such a great way to add some sweetness but strengthen that coffee taste!
It’s the best right!?! And thanks!
There’s just something so comforting about a bourbon cocktail during the winter and holidays. Add coffee and you’ve got the most luxurious, cozy drink! And Drizly sounds like such a great idea right about now – I can’t stand heading into most stores nowadays. With so much shopping to do I have about zero time for errands (and yes, grabbing ingredients for delicious cocktails like these is an absolute must!), so this would be the perfect service for me!!!
Yessss- the stores are insane right now!! I’m ordering everything online that I can!
Nice! It’s like that saying: coffee’s there to say “atta girl go get ’em!” and bourbon’s there to say “that’s okay honey you’ll get ’em next time!”
LOL exaaaaactly
I know it’s only Monday…but it’s freezing here in New Hampshire and I need one of these ASAP! 🙂 Looks delish!
It’s cold and wet here too.. we should all have one! 🙂
Maybe I’ll make my husband a coffee surprise tomorrow morning. 😀
Do it! Lol
Guess what I have everything in my pantry minus coffee which I am gonna start now. Temps in MI are perfect for this type of drink with 10 inch of snow on ground!
Brrrr yes you better drink this to warm up!! Stay inside!
I love the sound of Bourbon and Coffee… Would be perfect for this cold and rainy weather this weekend.
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 😀
Bourbon – coffee combo sounds AMAZING 🙂 Oh my oh my… Now I know how to impress my girlfriends next time they come to visit me hehe Loving this, saving, pinning and sharing 😉
Why do I have to see this when I am trying to lessen my coffee intake??? Oh, I am sure I can find an excuse to try this! Except for the bourbon I have the rest of the ingredients after all! Certainly, a must-try!
This is perfect for my Southern cold evenings. Coffee and bourbon, yes please!!! Love both and the addition of the cream makes it rich and decadent!. Will be making this soon!
Oh man – I’m not a coffee drinker but this makes me wish I was one. I love bourbon, so this seems so perfect! I’m guessing it just wouldn’t be the same with a mug of herbal tea, ha. Maybe with hot chocolate?!
Herbal tea and bourbon yes! Prob no cream though lol. And yessss hot cocoa would be awesome with this!
Heck, yes! This looks like what I need, right this second. Coffee is always improved by the addition of booze…
Grown up coffee at its best! 🙂 Looks and sounds delicious. The next time I host a dinner party, I’m going to serve this drink as a part of the dessert course. Yum!
It would be an awesome dessert! Enjoy!
Ok..hubby just finished having a shot of bourbon, then he saw this recipe. Looks like a nice treat for a cold afternoon. That should be too long from now…since we are in the dead of winter here. This should warm things up nicely.
haha.. he’ll just have to have more bourbon now! 😀
I’ll bet this is a warm-you-to-the-toes kind of coffee! With the weather we’ve had this January, I’m sure this coffee would hit the spot.
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!
wooooaaaah… I just told the hubs and he is SO JEALOUS! Our bottles… never last that long lololol. That’s some collection!
Um, yes! Any excuse to sneak a little bourbon in and perfect for derby season.
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! ????????????
Yum! Such a beautiful coffee! Definitely perfect for the cooler days outside.