9
Hi and thank you so much, Friends of Cocktails! As you may have seen, we recently passed the 100k YouTube subscribers milestone, and it goes without saying, but this wouldn’t be possible without you, so again, Thank you! If you want to watch the unboxing of the Silver Creator Award, check out the full episode on YouTube, but to celebrate we’ll make a Cocktail Time riff on a variation of a classic cocktail: The Inverted White Russian.
The inverted White Russian was the first Cocktail Time episode that went viral, also thanks to the reddit cocktail community, so I thought I’d make that cocktail even better by not using vodka, but cocoa fat-washed rum. We’ll also add some Yogurt Liqueur and make the foam differently, but first we’ll make the classic White Cuban - a mix of the White Russian and the Dominicana, using rum instead of vodka, coffee liqueur, and cream. It’s Cocktail Time!
White Cuban
● 60mL (2oz) Rum
● 30mL (1oz) Coffee Liqueur
● Cream
Into a chilled rocks glass add the rum and coffee liqueur, then add ice and stir to mix, chill, and dilute. Now slowly pour over the cream to get a layered effect - although before the drink is enjoyed it’s better to give it a stir. This is a simple, but rich and luscious cocktail. A little too sweet for my taste, but I’m sure some of you will love it - our Director of Photography, Sašo, for example - but let’s use this as a starting point and create a cocktail I’m calling the Island Coffee Crown.
Just like the White Cuban it will have 3 ingredients, with a rum base, but here we’re using a cocoa butter fat-washed rum to add silkiness and subtle chocolate notes. Instead of cream on top we’ll add some Yogurt Liqueur, which I’ve made in the past but you can also buy some premade. Finally for the coffee component, it will be added on top as foam, using specialty coffee and some special ingredients to make it, well, special!
So put on an apron and let’s make these ingredients.
Cocoa Butter Fat Washed Rum
● 25g raw cocoa butter
● 250mL (1 cup) Diplomatico Planas rum
Melt the cocoa butter in a pan and pour it into the rum. We’ll leave this mixture to sit for 1 hour, but give it a stir every 15 minutes so that the rum really picks up the buttery cocoa goodness. Then place it in the freezer for the fat to solidify completely and strain it through a coffee filter, to catch any solid parts - You’ll also be able to re-use the cocoa butter for cooking and baking afterwards! Cocoa butter is pure fat, derived from cocoa beans, and it's completely vegan.
Once it's strained, bottle your Cocoa Rum and let’s move on to the coffee foam. First part will be making coffee, which we’ll mix with xanthan gum, demerara sugar, saline solution and methylcellulose and pour everything into a cream whipper.
Coffee Foam
● 30g specialty coffee
● 480g water
● 400g coffee
● 0.5g xanthan gum
● 22g demerara sugar
● 20 drops saline solution
● 1.6g methylcellulose
I make my coffee by getting a Chemex ready and rinsing a filter with hot water, then setting it up and placing 30g of ground coffee inside the filter - I went for a specialty coffee from Perú! Then I pour a small amount of hot water over the bed of coffee and wait for it to bloom. Once you see this water has mostly gone through, pour over the rest of the water, 480g in total. Then watch, smell, and enjoy the coffee-making process. Once it’s all filtered it's time to split it into two parts.
First place 300g of cold coffee in a blender with the xanthan gum, sugar and saline solution, then blend for at least 30 seconds. This would already make a nice foam, but we want it to be even richer and more stable, and for that we’ll add methyl cellulose. So heat up 100 grams of coffee almost to its boiling point and pour it over the methylcellulose and whisk everything well. Once the methylcellulose has dissolved, pour in the blended mixture, constantly whisking as you do so.
You can now pour everything into a cream whipper through a fine strainer and charge it with a cream charger. Place it in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour, and if you are at this step why don’t you check out our Patreon while you wait? Our Patrons are a huge support, so a massive thanks to all of you. We have quite a few awesome perks ready if you want to join them, and depending on the tier, your name can also become part of the Cocktail Time set, so it will be more than worth your investment!
With that, we are now ready to make the Island Coffee Crown.
Island Coffee Crown
● 45mL (1.5oz) Cocoa Butter-Washed Rum
● 30mL (1oz) Yogurt Liqueur
● Coffee Foam
Into a chilled low tumbler glass add our Cocoa Butter-Washed Rum and Yogurt Liqueur, add ice and stir to chill and dilute. If you’re not a coffee person you’ve got a creamy, buttery cocktail done. But we’re adding a coffee crown that will elevate this cocktail to a new level, so slowly add the coffee foam on top of the drink and that’s it! The Inverted White Cuban. Rum, cocoa, yogurt, coffee… I’m all in. Cheers!
The crown of coffee is the main player on the aroma and the taste, including the wonderful airy mouthfeel. Don’t add too much, or you’ll throw off the balance. The cocoa and yogurt notes quickly join the dance, with rum providing a solid, but not overpowering base. This is not a boozy sipper, but a delicious, creamy treat, perfect after a hearty meal. I loved the Inverted White Russian we made back in 2020, but honestly, this one is even better. I hope you’ll make it for yourself and enjoy a toast with everyone in the Cocktail Time community.
All one hundred thousand PLUS of you! Thank you again, and cheers, Friends of Cocktails.
Amazing work