Best Alcoholic Coffee Cocktails For The Holiday Season

Especially when made from coffee pods, alcoholic coffee cocktails can relieve stress during the holiday season. The houseguests, parties, and abundance of family time can be distracting. Additionally, even the general merrymaking can be overloading.

These coffee cocktail recipes, when enjoyed responsible, are here for you. This is the best solution to help you get through the holidays. Ultimately, a little mix of booze and coffee can cheer you up and cool you down.

Similar to the adult equivalent of peanut butter and jelly. Coffee and liquor have always gone together. There is also evidence that goes as far back as medieval times. It reveals that people were consuming wine made from fermented coffee berries.

We have boozy coffee drinks that will get your day or night off to a strong start. Perhaps you want to prepare something to enjoy on your own. Or you’re planning on preparing something to share. Regardless, we are sure you’ll find a coffee pod alcoholic recipe that you’ll love. 

What are Alcoholic Coffee Cocktails?

Alcoholic coffee cocktails are beverages made primarily from coffee with the addition of any form of liquor. The liquor acts as a kick to the drink. Giving you a nice and steady buzz without getting you heavily drunk.

The winter period can be very harsh and unforgiving. Therefore, you will need as many coffee cocktail ideas as possible. In this article, you will get insight into numerous recipes to spice up your winter.

Coffee pods are more common nowadays. Thereby, this leads to an easier process for making alcoholic coffee cocktails. You can easily whip up a hot beverage with the right amount of liquor.

The Best Alcoholic Coffee Cocktail Recipes

Let us dive into the main course of alcoholic coffee cocktails. In this segment, you will get a vast list of unique alcoholic beverages to make. Each cocktail contains coffee as it is essential to the mix.

You will learn how to make alcoholic coffee drinks with ease. This Christmas, impress your friends and family with your new skills. It’s time to make the winter holidays even more fun.

Irish Iced Coffee

Components

• 2 oz Tullamore D.E.W. Original D.E.W. Original
• 1 Tsp Ground Espresso
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp of warm water
• 3 oz Cold Coffee Brew
• Whipped cream

Direction

In a little tub, mix the whisky and espresso and let it sit for 15 minutes. Strain through a coffee filter into a drink shaker. In the meantime, stir the sugar and hot water until it dissolves.

Next, apply cold brew and ice to the shaker. Shake and strain, and serve in a Collins glass. Top up with cream.

This alcoholic coffee cocktail is simple and provides you with warmth and a gentle buzz. The burn of the whisky is subtle as the coffee hides it. You get to enjoy the warm cocoa while relaxing.

Boozy Hot Coffee

Ingredients

• 0.5 shot of Brandy
• 0.5 shot of Grand Marnier
• 0.5 shot of Kahlua
• 4-5 oz of hot coffee
• 1 peel of an orange
• 0.5 oz cup of milk whipped
• 0.5 oz tsp of sugar

Directions

You can place the whipped cream in a bowl and whip it with a whisk. Alternatively, you can put it in the blender. Whip until the peaks are soft and then apply some sugar to taste.

Take your orange peel and "burn" it gently with a lighter. This will make the oils come out and add flavour to the coffee later.

Pour in a mug with the brandy, Grand Marnier, Kahlua, and freshly brewed coffee from coffee pods. Stir with the orange peel. Pour some whipped cream on it and enjoy it instantly.

This is a stronger alcoholic cocktail. It’s great if you need a strong kick to start your night. The brandy, orange liqueur and coffee liqueur blend seamlessly and complement each other. The cream and sugar will also sweeten the mix delightfully.

El Cafecito

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Papa's Pilar Dark Rum
• 0.5 oz Miami Club Cuban Coffee Liqueur
• 0.5 oz Licor 431 dash simple syrup
• 2 dashes Bitter Truth chocolate bitters

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients into a shaker and shake vigorously. Furthermore, strain into a rock glass with a huge ice cube. Garnish with coffee beans and enjoy.

This is a classy alcoholic coffee cocktail that is also easy to make. It has bittersweet notes that awaken your palates. It goes very well with peanuts or cashew nuts.

Related article: Best Coffee Pod Brands in 2020

Winter Wonderland

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Anchor Distilling Christmas Spirit
• 0.5 oz espresso
• 0.25 oz Tempus Fugit Spirits Crème de Cacao
• 0.25 oz Tempus Fugit Spirits Crème de Menthe
• 0.5 oz heavy cream
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Instructions

Shake well and strain onto the rock glass over the fresh ice. Garnish with a mini candy cane. It is best you drink it with a steel straw.

This alcoholic coffee cocktail has heavy spice notes. It has a minty flavour that keeps you alert. The two crèmes boost the peppermint flavour. The alcohol content is low but noticeable.

Anatolia Café

Ingredients

• 1 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac
• 1 oz Luxardo Cherry Liqueur
• 0.25 oz Cinnamon Syrup
• Coffee

Instructions

Mix and combine all the ingredients. Top up with coffee made from coffee pods, whipped cream, and cinnamon powder.

This alcoholic coffee cocktail lingers on your tongue due to the cinnamon. It’s ideal to take with cookies and cream biscuits. It’s mildly alcoholic with a sweet-tart taste.

Coffee Old Fashioned

Ingredients

• 1 double shot espresso (about 2 oz.) at room temperature
• 1 oz bourbon or rye whiskey
• 0.25 oz simple syrup
• A dash of Peychaud's bitters
• 1 1-inch piece of lemon peel

Instructions

In a shaker, mix the espresso, whisky, simple syrup, and bitters, and top with ice. Stir with a bar spoon for 30 seconds and strain into a rock glass filled with ice. Twist the peel of the lemon over the drink and rub it across the glass edge. Garnish with lemon peel.

This is a twist on the classic old fashioned recipe. It’s also a great holiday season coffee option. The addition of the coffee tones down the sourness and makes it very pleasant.

Holiday Coffee

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Jack Daniel's Single Barrel whiskey
• 0.5 oz peppermint Syrup
• Hot coffee
• Lightly chipped cream

DIY Peppermint syrup: break candy cane and measure one cup. Next, heat with one cup of water until the candy disintegrates. Let it cool and store in glass.

Directions

Add whiskey and syrup to warm glass. Add coffee and top with cream. Drizzle crushed candy cane on top. You get a simple yet effective alcoholic beverage.

This is a popular coffee choice at cafes. It’s easy to make and warms the body against the blistering cold. The peppermint flavour is soothing to the tongue.

Siciliano

Ingredients

• 2 oz sweet vermouth, preferably Italian
• 1.5 oz amaro
• 1.5 oz strong cold-brew coffee
• 1 oz simple syrup
• Club soda
• Orange wheel (for serving)

Instructions

In a tumbler, mix the vermouth, amaro, coffee from your coffee pods, and simple syrup. Add ice and finish with club soda to fill and top off. Garnish with an orange wheel.

This Italian alcoholic coffee cocktail gives off a bittersweet taste. However, once you take a sip, you are left with a caramel-like aftertaste. It is a favourite of travellers.

Ingredients

• 2 oz spiced and buttered Captain Morgan's rum
• 0.75 oz ginger syrup
• 1 oz half and half
• Top with black coffee
• Garnish with whipped cream and a ginger cookie

DIY Buttered Rum

• 1 bottle Captain Morgan's rum
• 4 oz unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 10 cloves

Preparation of buttered rum

Instruction

Put all ingredients in a pot except for rum. Additionally, bring to a simmer until the butter melts completely. Mix in the rum slowly.

Put it in a saucepan and put it in the freezer for 35 minutes. Scoop butterfat from the surface. Strain through a fine-mesh.

Once you have your buttered rum, add all other initial ingredients into a shaker. Shake vigorously and pour into a glass. Garnish with a ginger cookie and top up with whipped cream.

This is one of the best alcoholic coffee drinks in recent years. Its combination of buttered rum and ginger makes for a wholesome experience. It is best served with cookies or cake.

Hot White Russian

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups freshly brewed coffee
• 0.5 cup heavy cream
• 0.5 cup Kahlua or other coffee-flavoured liqueur, or to taste
• 0.25 cup vodka, or to taste
• Whipped heavy cream for garnish if desired

Instructions

Stir the coffee, 1/2 cup of milk, the Kahlua, and the vodka together in a saucepan. Ensure to cook the mixture over medium heat until it is warm enough. Divide the mixture into hot mugs and garnish each drink with whipped cream.

What makes this alcoholic coffee cocktail special is its ease of production. It’s a twist on the typical White Russian recipe. It’s great for early birds as it gives you the required kick to get on with your day.

Additionally, you can mix the alcohol with coffee pods for further ease. If you don’t have a coffee machine, don’t sweat it. You can easily use your coffee pods to make this delicious drink.

Affogato Martini

Ingredients

• 2 oz vanilla vodka
• 0.5 oz cream de cocoa
• 1 oz Kahlua
• 1 scoop vanilla ice cream

Instructions

Pour in the vanilla vodka, chocolate cream, and Kahlua into a shaker. Add in around 3 cubes of ice. Cover the shaker and shake until it is frozen.

Pour the mixture into a martini glass and add vanilla ice cream to top it off. Serve and eat it with a spoon.

Feel like a spy with this twist on the classic martini. You can have it shaken or stirred. However way you go, it still tastes great.

Cold Brew Cabana

Ingredients

• 1.5 parts Havana Club Añejo Clásico rum
• 0.75 part cold brew
• 0.5 part Giffard Banana Liqueur
• 3 drops of ginger bitters
• 1 drop of vanilla extract

Instructions

Shake with ice and strain all the ingredients into a coupé glass. Garnish with a chip of dried banana. Give your tongue a tropical zest.

This Puerto Rican inspired alcoholic coffee cocktail is a blast. It contains herbal notes that help vitalize your body. It is great to take as an aperitif.

Southern Limerick

Ingredients

• 0.25 oz rich demerara syrup
• 0.75 oz Meletti
• 0.75 oz 1776 Rye
• 4 oz brewed coffee

Instructions

In a 7 oz preheated container, add the Demerara sugar, the Meletti, the rye, and the coffee brew. Stir the combination. Lightly whisk the cool cream and Demerara syrup into a squeeze bottle for a whipped topping.

Use a bar spoon to float 1⁄4 inch of cream on top of the cocktail. Finally, end with a few dashes of Angostura bitters.

This alcoholic coffee cocktail gives off an aromatic taste. It settles on your tongue and wakes up your body. It’s great to take this drink for a late-night hangout.

Jazzed Up

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Frapin 1270
• 0.5 oz Grand Marnier
• 0.5 oz Amaro
• 1 oz Cold Brew
• 0.5 oz Demerara Syrup

Instructions

Combine and shake the ingredients vigorously. Strain and garnish with a few coffee beans in a brandy snifter and serve.

It is a suitable coffee cocktail recipe for a lounge night out. The alcohol slowly spreads throughout your body. This gives you a balanced buzz that isn’t overwhelming. This way you get to enjoy your music.

Colorado Bulldog

Ingredients

• 1 oz Kahlua
• 1 oz Absolut Vodka
• 1 oz cream
• Top with Cola

Instructions 

Shake the liquor and cream with ice. Strain into a rocks glass with plenty of ice. Ensure you leave enough space at the top. Finally, top it off with cola.

This alcoholic coffee cocktail is a slight variation of the White and Black Russian cocktails. It expertly combines their flavours to give a unique taste.

Cafe Amore (French Connection)

Ingredients

• Hot coffee
• 1 oz Cognac
• 1 oz Amaretto
• Shaved almonds
• Whipped cream

Instructions

Fill a glass with Cognac and the Amaretto. Then fill the rest with hot, black coffee from your coffee pods. Top it with whipped cream and shaved almonds, if you want to add another dimension.

The French prefer Cognac for the alcohol and Amaretto for the taste, rather than whiskey. Equal portions of cognac and Amaretto liqueur are a traditional French combination. Simply add one ounce of Cognac and one ounce of Amaretto to the ice and stir in a bowl. However, the coffee variant is served warm and always goes by the name Cafe Amore.

Kentucky Coffee

Ingredients

• 1 oz bourbon
• 0.5 oz Kahlua
• Dash of vanilla extract
• Sugar to taste
• Whipped cream
• 6 oz hot coffee

Instruction

Get a glass and fill it with hot coffee half full. Pour in an ounce of bourbon, half an ounce of coffee liqueur, and a splash of vanilla extract. Sweeten to taste with sugar, and then add some cream gently until it sits on top.

Think of alcoholic coffee cocktails from Ireland, but right out of the American South. Kentucky is popular for its bourbon. Hence, what better alcohol can there be to combine with coffee?

For the perfect combination of coffee and whiskey, consider Kentucky Coffee. It’s a simple but rich combination that can never go wrong.

Mexican Coffee

Ingredients

• 0.25 cup vanilla ice cream
• 0.5 oz Kahlua
• 0.5 oz tequila
• 6 oz hot coffee

Instructions

In a microwave, simply melt the vanilla ice cream. Next, add it to a cup of strong, full-bodied coffee from coffee pods. Introduce the coffee liqueur and the Tequila, and you're all right to go.

This is a perfect hot drink, but we're sure it'll taste good just as cold. Not Southern enough for you in Kentucky? For this colourful coffee treat, go ahead and cross the border into Mexico.

Pull the ice cream and tequila down; it's time for Mexican Coffee. Add a splash of agave goodness to your coffee.

Bavarian Coffee

Ingredients

• 5 oz hot coffee
• 0.5 oz peppermint schnapps
• 0.5 oz Kahlua
• Sugar to taste
• Whipped Cream

Instructions

Make a Bavarian Coffee by simply mixing peppermint schnapps with Kahlua. Introduce both ingredients into 5 oz of hot, black coffee.

To begin with, Bavaria is Germany's biggest land state, also known as Bayern. Additionally, it is well known for its charming old-world charm.

And what kind of alcoholic coffee cocktail is ideal for Bavarians? It begins with the popular hot coffee, Kahlua, sugar and cream ingredients. For coffee liqueur drinks, Kahlua is certainly the go-to, and this cocktail brings Kahlua to the next step.

The inclusion of peppermint schnapps is the kicker. This provides the warm, rich, minty coffee we all dream of during the holidays.

Have you never drunk any peppermint schnapps before? It tastes like cane candy. Think of Crème de Menthe, but less sweet than that.

The Spanish Carajillo

Ingredients

• 4 oz coffee
• 0.75 oz Grand Marnier
• 1 oz rum and coffee liqueur
• 0.75 oz Jamaican rum
• 0.25 oz brown sugar syrup
• 4 oz heavy cream
• Fine sugar
• Orange slice

Preparation

Take your Jamaican rum, Grand Marnier, coffee liqueur, and brown sugar syrup. Apply the shaker content to the coffee. Proceed to stir. Next, gently float the cream onto the top of the cocktail. You can achieve this with the backside of a spoon.

Start by wetting the orange slice with the rim of a glass cup. Then on the plate, pour the sugar and tip the glass upside down in the sugar.

Add 1⁄2 oz of Grand Marnier and heavy cream to a shaker with a Hawthorne strainer coil. Proceed to shake for at least 10 seconds with a dry shake (no ice).

The culture of Spain is filled with drama. So it should come as no surprise that this dramatically stunning society offers Spanish Coffee. Also known as carajillo, it is as intense as anything else.

This carajillo recipe is a smooth and strong mixture of caffeine and alcohol. It is sure to have you coming back for more.

Brew your coffee or introduce your coffee pod. Add the Jamaican rum, 1⁄4 oz Grand Marnier, coffee liqueur, and brown sugar syrup. Shake all these ingredients together and strain into a glass. Use the back of the spoon to carefully float the cream on the drink. This makes for a thrilling holiday season coffee option. 

Maple Bourbon Coffee

Ingredients

• 8 oz freshly brewed coffee
• 1 oz bourbon
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
• 2 tbsp vanilla

Preparation

Brew your coffee. Combine the cream, maple syrup, vanilla and brown sugar in a mixing cup. Whisk until you dissolve the sugar. Add the whiskey in.

To a coffee mug, first, add about 1/8th of a cup of the blended whipped cream. This already contains your maple syrup, vanilla and brown sugar. Take a sip and stir it up.

Top up the drink with some whipped cream. Enjoy your hot alcoholic beverage.

As a foremost coffee cocktail recipe, mention to most people the words maple and bourbon and they smile. In earnest, you may even smile as well. Any of these flavours is spectacular on its own. However, bring them together with coffee and you have yourself a great mix.

Espresso Martini

Ingredients

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. coffee liqueur
• 1 oz. fresh espresso

Directions

Shake the ingredients with the ice and pour them into a cold martini cup. If you want a cool garnish, top it with three coffee beans.

This alcoholic coffee cocktail, strictly speaking, isn't a martini. A martini, with dry vermouth, is ice-cold and ice-clear. Technically speaking, it is an alcoholic coffee cocktail in a stylish glass. If you need to give it a sweeter edge, apply simple syrup.

Mudslide

Ingredients

• 1 oz. coffee liqueur
• 1 oz. vodka
• 1.5 oz. Irish cream liqueur

Direction

In a shaker with ice, mix coffee liqueur, whisky, and Irish cream liqueur. Shake for 10 seconds at least. Strain into a rocks glass over ice.

You can treat a mudslide like an alcoholic sundae. Feel free to put whatever form of dessert or fruit as a garnish. You may even use a wafer stick as well.

Paradise Found

Ingredients

• 6 oz Iced coffee
• 1 oz spiced rum
• 1 oz butterscotch schnapps
• Cream
• Sugar

Instructions

Add the rum and butterscotch schnapps to the iced coffee to produce this cold drink. To taste, add in a little cream and sugar.

Stir it all up in a tall glass of ice and throw on your swimming suit. Set up your backyard lawn chair for the greatest escape.

As an ideal alcoholic coffee cocktail, you may be thinking of palm trees and sand under your feet. You are holding an ice-cold drink in your hand. Next, you listen to the tropical shore wave after wave roll in.

However, you may not be actually sitting on the sand. Regardless, the least you can do is make this cocktail and fantasize about a tropical paradise. Who knows, the next time you wake up; you may find yourself in Hawaii or Bali.

Espresso Summer

Ingredients

• 1 oz espresso or cold brew concentrate
• 1.5 oz gin
• 0.5 oz simple syrup
• 0.5 oz orange juice
• Blackberries
• Orange Slice

Preparation

Take an espresso shot and shake it over ice to cool. Add Gin, simple syrup, and orange juice. Shake all together and then finish it with blackberries and an orange slice.

Some people like their coffee the way they like their booze, ice cold. The Espresso Summer is a drink made with espresso and poured over ice.

This is going to take you through the long, humid summer days. It is also ideal for keeping you going through the night for a long time.

Conclusion

The winter holidays are fast approaching. You can start preparing for it by practicing these simple cocktail recipes. This way, you will be able to spice up your Christmas season.

The best part is you can make all of these alcoholic coffee cocktails with coffee pods. Once you buy coffee pods, you can still create magical boozy coffee cocktails. Here at Invigo Coffee, we offer different flavours of coffee pods that will go great with your holiday recipes! Have a happy holiday!

Related article: The Real Cost of Coffee Pods in Canada