Tag: Coffee

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The Best Espresso Martini in San Jose

Well, this isn’t exactly an exhaustive quest to find the best version of the 2020s viral cocktail sensation, but Mrs. Mai Tai had a couple great ones on our excursion Friday night in San Jose so I thought I would share.

Espresso Oasis at Dr. Funk

Replacing the vodka with a more flavorful spirit such as rum isn’t unique to tiki bars, but Dr. Funk leans into traditional exotic cocktail flavors by also including falernum and orgeat syrups to add sweetness. The rum blend features Planteray Cut & Dry Coconut and OFTD Overproof rums and these work great with the coffee flavors.

Espresso Oasis at Dr. Funk

Pumpkin Spiced Espresso Martini at Haberdasher

We tried another twist on the standard cocktail at Haberdasher, featuring a house-made pumpkin-spiced syrup to pair with more traditional ingredients vodka, Mr. Black coffee liqueur, and coffee. Those mild spice flavors add additional depth and sweetness that work great.

Pumpkin Spiced Espresso Martini

We really enjoyed our Haberdasher visit that also included a Pink Squirrel from a specialty cocktail menu, plus some great service from the staff. I learned a bit about their popular whiskey club as well.

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Donnie’s Element

This Chris Day cocktail is still on the menu at The Kon-Tiki and Mrs. Mai Tai considered it during our visit on Thursday. She went in a different direction but for Friday’s end-of-the-week cocktail I figured this would hit the spot.

Donnie’s Element by Chris Day
½ oz Coffee Liqueur (Mr. Black)
½ oz Banana Liqueur (Giffard Banane du Bresil)
1½ oz Coconut Creme
1½ oz Spiced Rum
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
Whip shake and pour over crushed or pebble ice.
Garnish with Grated Cinnamon

We previously covered Donnie’s Element and it still holds up. So creamy and layered, and a good use a spiced rum if you have some (we combined two half-filled bottles of Captain Morgan and Sailor Jerry). I also tried this with Appleton Signature and the cocktail with the spiced rum simply tasted better.

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Donnie’s Element

This is a Chris Day original now being served as a frozen drink at The Kon-Tiki in Oakland . It is lovely in that format and serves as a wonderful counterpart to The Kon-Tiki’s Pina Colada style cocktail The Uma Uma also being served frozen.

Coffee drinks haven’t always been my friend, apart of the Black Magic I had at The Mai-Kai a couple years ago. But after trying this cocktail I knew I had to try and make it at home. So glad I did – it is even better in the original shaken format. I used Tempus Fugit Creme of Banana and I would say that I’m not tasting the banana too much, so you might consider increasing it a bit (or, pulling back on the coffee liqueur). The Spiced Rum I used was a combo of Sailor Jerry and Captain Morgan that I made by combining two half bottles of each.

Donnie’s Element by Chris Day
½ oz Coffee Liqueur (Mr. Black)
½ oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
1½ oz Coconut Creme
1½ oz Spiced Rum
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Whip shake and pour over crushed or pebble ice.
Garnish with Grated Cinnamon

Be sure to check out the embedded video from the Educated Barfly where they made this cocktail. I won’t spoil the surprise but if you’re a fan of the drink or of Chris Day’s cocktails (or just Chris as a human being) you should definitely watch the video.