Coffee + Bourbon = BLISS

The official Basil Hayden iced coffee photo…

My version - lighter in color but good.

I drink a LOT of coffee, every day. I love the taste of it, the ritual of making it and the smell of it. I really enjoy coffee and not the $4.00 a cup brand. I’ve been open about my love of @BasilHayden, it is the bourbon by which all others are judged. Period. Full stop. So, when I saw a recipe in my inbox for Basil Hayden iced coffee, I felt like in a world of COVID-19, this was a lifeline for my spirit. Or at the very least for my taste buds. I imagined making this Saturday morning and spending another day at home.

I told G about my Saturday morning plans and he was eager to join me and said we’d try it together- virtually of course, dagnabit. I sent him the recipe and my phone immediately rings. Before I could get hello out, G asked me if I wanted to do anything beyond sleep Saturday cause that recipe was going to knock me out? I looked more closely at the recipe and yeah, I could see his point – there is a LOT of bourbon in there. We adjusted our consumption time to early afternoon; because you know, COVID-19 and no one is going anywhere.

When I think iced coffee, I think a little something in my coffee. This is bourbon with a little something (coffee). The drink has simple syrup, nutmeg and chocolate bitters. Given my experience with chocolate bitters in the past, I wasn’t sure how I would like them now. I was committed to following the recipe to a “T” for the first time. Using my @WoodfordReserve chocolate bitters, cause that’s what I had on hand and homemade simple syrup. The nutmeg was the last ingredient in the drink, and it is the first to hit the nose and stay there. It doesn’t overwhelm; but you know it is there. And who doesn’t like the smell of nutmeg? Anyone? Anyone?

“It is surprisingly well balanced.”

The nutmeg hits the nose first and the chocolate bitters are the last. The drink is delicious… and potent. I will definitely add this to my repertoire, and I can’t wait to experiment with the proportions.

Cheers
~Kimberly Elise

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