We’re coffee lovers. So if we can sneak it into our cocktails too - we’re happy! What makes this all the more exciting is that shaking and stirring coffee cocktails is now easier than ever to make at home, thanks to our Cold Brew Concentrate.
To celebrate London Cocktail Week, we challenged our Unionistas to design a Cold Brew Concentrate cocktail and assemble it at the official “Cold Brew Cocktail Throwdown”. We were treated to eight delicious cocktails ranging from Alpine-themed concoctions to fun caffeine-fuelled plays on our favourite classics.
The panel of judges, Rachel (Marketing), Jeremy (Founder) and Suzan (Service Desk), had the difficult task of placing the top three cocktails. A huge congratulations to Magdalena from Customer Service for her Winter Spark, Louis from Sales for his Cold Brew Negroni and Dave from Finance for his Jenever Joe - that all placed in the top three. These cocktails were much too delicious for us to keep to ourselves, so if you’re hankering for a cold brew cocktail, look no further:
Winter Spark
Close the curtains, get the fire going - this is a perfect cocktail to enjoy while the leaves start to fall from the trees and the nights get darker. The mix of spiced rum, chocolate and orange is a real winter warmer, with the creamy milk and sweetness from the cold brew making it deliciously smooth and soothing!
What you’ll need
50ml Union Cold Brew Concentrate
50ml Spiced Rum (we used Red Leg)
25ml Chocolate liqueur (we used Bailey’s)
25ml Orange liqueur (we used Cointreau)
25ml Condensed milk
Ice
Orange peel and chocolate shards (to garnish)
Old Fashioned glass
Method
- Add ice, Cold Brew Concentrate, spiced rum, chocolate liqueur, orange liqueur and condensed milk to a shaker
- Shake it!
- Strain into an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice
- Garnish with chocolate and orange peel
Jenever Joe
Bringing the winning combination of ample servings of gin and coffee to your day, topped up with a few bubbles, best enjoyed with great company!
What you’ll need
50ml Union Cold Brew Concentrate
100ml Gin (we used Boodles British Gin)
100ml Prosecco
Brown sugar
Ice
Martini glass
Method
- Fill your cocktail shaker with ice, Cold Brew Concentrate and gin
- Shake it!
- Top with prosecco and ½ - 1 flat teaspoon brown sugar (do vary based on preference)
- Stir
- Strain into a martini glass (chilled)
Cold Brew & Cynar Negroni
Here’s our take on a classic Negroni.
Cynar (pronounced Cheenar!) is a herbaceous Italian bitter liqueur which takes its name from its main ingredients – artichoke! It tastes better than it sounds and balances out beautifully against the complex vermouth used here and the sweetness of the Guatemalan Cold Brew.
What you’ll need
50ml Union Cold Brew Concentrate.
50ml Gin (we used Boodles British Gin)
50ml Cynar (or Campari)
50ml Antica Formula (or other sweet vermouth)
Ice
Old Fashioned glass
Method
- Add Cold Brew Concentrate, gin, Cynar and Antica Formula into a mixing glass with ice and stir
- Strain into an Old Fashioned glass with a large ice cube
- Garnish with orange peel
This recipe scales well so if you have a gathering you can pre-batched ahead of time, just add equal parts of all the ingredients!
All sound delicious, don’t they? Want to give these a go or create your own Cold Brew Concentrate cocktail? We would love to see! Post your photo on Instagram or Twitter and tag us using our handle @unionroasted and use #unioncoldbrewcocktail – we can’t wait to see! Happy Cocktail-ing!
Written by Helena Brown, Social Media Executive
October 2019
