Well, we have chocolate covered peanuts and chocolate covered espresso beans and chocolate covered everything else so why not chocolate covered rum? I made a chocolate simple syrup with coconut nectar and drinking chocolate.  It is really deeply chocolate and very thick.  This cocktail has the flavor of rum and coconut but the dark chocolate predominates.  The spice of the chipotle and bitters keeps the sweetness at bay.

• 1 1/2 oz. Rum
• 1/2 oz Coconut Liqueur
• 1/4 oz. Chocolate Simple Syrup – Recipe here
• 2 pinches chipotle powder
• 1 dash Fees Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and stir with a spoon to dissolve the chocolate syrup
3. Add Ice to the shaker and shake to chill
4. Double strain into chilled glass and serve

Cheers!

This is like eating a 97% cacao chocolate bar.  Only a touch sweet.  You can use this as a substitute for Simple Syrup in any cocktail that has chocolate.  For some examples of chocolate cocktails using this syrup go here.  If it’s too thick, add some hot water.

• 1 oz. Water
• 1 oz. Coconut nectar or sub honey
• 4 tbls. Dagoba Drinking Chocolate mix.  You can substitute another brand but I used 130% of the amount to make 1 cup of drinking chocolate.
• 1 tbls. Sugar or to taste.

1. Heat all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat until dissolved
2. Cool slightly before use.
3. If it’s too thick, add some hot water.

When I think of a dessert drink, my mind usually lands first on coffee. When I think of dessert, chocolate usually wins, (like everyone else, right?). So, my dessert cocktails frequently incorporate coffee and chocolate.  My list of after dinner drinks includes several sweet cocktails.  I prefer my dessert cocktail to be not overly sweet.  That’s probably because, while I might start out thinking the cocktail is my dessert, I usually end up eating something sweet as well.  So, I like dessert cocktails that do double duty as a stand alone dessert or as an accompaniment to a dessert, (read chocolate cake).

The Nectar de Café uses apricot brandy, amaretto, Ancho Reyes, crème de cacao, molé bitters and coffee syrup.  I used Kinsman Rakia for the apricot brandy.  Depending on the brand you use, you may want to adjust the sweetness.  The coffee syrup is house made, (go here for the simple recipe),  but you can use whatever brand you like for your cold coffee.

Nectar de Café

This cocktail is a touch on the sweeter side.  It alone can be dessert, but not so much that you couldn’t enjoy it with your favorite sugary delight, (chocolate cake).  The nose is sweet apricot, tropical fruit and coffee.  The taste is fruit, coffee with background of nuts, chocolate and chilies.  It doesn’t taste as sweet as your nose told you it would.  The finish is chocolate and coffee.  Shaking the drink creates the coffee foam and gives the cocktail a pleasant mouth feel.  After shaking and double straining into the glass, let it sit for about 30 seconds to allow the foam to form and the drink to clear.

• 1 oz. Apricot brandy
• 1 oz. Cold coffee syrup
• 3/4 oz. White crème de cacao
• 1/2 oz. Ancho Reyes Liqueur
• 1/2 oz. Amaretto
• 4-5 drops molé bitters

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake to chill and create a foam – about 30 seconds.
3. Double strain into the chilled cocktail glass
4. Let the drink sit for about 30 seconds to allow the foam to form and the to drink clear.

Cheers!

I prefer to make cold coffee cocktails with cold brewed coffee.  Our coffee cocktails will work with whatever coffee syrup you like to use for cold coffee.  I usually make this syrup using Starbucks Sumatra dark roast.

• 3 1/2 cups coarsely ground coffee
• 5 cups water

1. Combine coffee and water in a container stir well and let sit for 12 hours at room temperature.
2. Strain, first through a fine mesh filter, then through a paper filter
3. Keeps refrigerated for 1-2 weeks

To make cold coffee combine 1:3 or 1:4 coffee syrup to cold water.

Cheers!