Drink of the Week: Amarula Hot Coffee

Normally during the cold season imbibers take a hiatus from partaking the waters, especially brewed liquors such as beer and lagers.

Hardly do I want to hold a cold glass or bottle in my hand, freezing off my fingers just to get a numbing feeling from alcohol.

Fortunately for those who can stomach both beer and hard liquor like spirits, which range from gin, whiskey, brandy and vodka to mention a few, there are warm winter cocktails which you can consume and still have fun.

Preferentially I would go with beer (note beer and not lager) . . . But the fact that I constantly have to put my hands in my pockets every other second after I take a sip from my glass or bottle just isn’t enticing enough for me to sit at my usual watering hole and enjoy one.

Fortunately for me, or rather followers of this column, the illustrious Liquid Chef, Mixologist Extraordinaire James Mparutsa came to my rescue when I told him of the predicament.

I explained to him how partaking in the cooled wise waters had become difficult. And his response was quite simple.

“Peter, from mulled wine to hot toddies, here’s what to drink when the temperature drops. There are many cocktail recipes available for each season and the best are made in the winter season. And I just have the perfect one to welcome the winter season,” he said.

The cocktail recipe James gave me sounds exciting and I definitely will be trying it soon, once the “parchment in my pockets” is quenched.

He calls the cocktail the Amarula Hot Coffee.

“To make this you need to mix all the ingredients in a wine glass. First you need half-a-cup of hot black coffee with sugar to your taste, a thimbleful of Amarula cream liqueur, and one tablespoon of whipped cream,” said James.

The method: Pour the coffee into the wine glass, add Amarula then put the whipped cream on top and then sprinkle some coffee granules on top for garnish.

I think this is a cocktail I would best enjoy in the comfort of my home, watching an interesting series or movie.

A glass or two would suffice in my opinion.

Another cocktail he recommended was the hot toddy, sounds expensive right? Anyway, his recipe is below:

“Place sugar in a medium heavy-based saucepan over high heat with a dash of water. Let it simmer while swirling the pan for 5-6 minutes, until you acquire a golden or caramel colour. Using a metal spoon, stir in 2 cups (500ml) water and swirl pan until caramel and water are combined. Stir in apple juice and cinnamon quills, then stir in a liqueur of your choice. Then lastly pour in the glass while also adding whipped cream and dust with cinnamon to serve.

Till next week, have a blissful and tipsy weekend.

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