This post was made in partnership with Kerrygold Irish Cream. Recipe and ideas are my own.
This weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. And to send everyone off, I’ve got one last summer drink with Kerrygold Irish Cream headed your way today. But first, a question. Have you ever had salted cream on your coffee or tea?
Right now I’ve noticed a big push at some national coffee chains where they’re advertising cold foam, or sweet cream, salted or unsalted, on their iced drinks. This may be a new concept for a lot of customers at these stores (especially with the near fanatical hype I’m seeing on some social channels for the stuff), but for several years now I’ve been getting salted cream topped tea at a restaurant called Din Tai Fung (which happens to have several locations here in SoCal and more world-wide). I had never heard of it before trying it there, and I have since gotten it every single time I go there for soup dumplings (which is all I want to eat when it’s winter here in LA). It’s basically whipped unsweetened cream that has a nice layer of salt sprinkled on top (and actually it may be lightly sweetened but as I gobble it up so fast every time I haven’t stopped to think about it). I get it atop black tea, but you can also get it with green as well.
Anyways, I also really love a tea syrup or tea infusion in my cocktails and the idea of adding a salted cream on top of one sounded, quite frankly, delicious to me. So, here we are today.
This is also a transitional cocktail in the sense that I’m incorporating tea into it, thinking ahead to cooler temps and warm sips by the fire; but for now I’ll enjoy that tea iced. The resulting flavor is quite unique here with a floral, bright, and fruity forwardness on the palate that finishes smooth with hints of chocolate and spice. Over ice it is light, with hits of salty richness from the cream. Bergamot, the flavor associated with Earl Gray tea, has always tasted a little like Fruity Pebbles cereal to me, and here that citrus/fruitiness provides a nice contrast to the cream found in the Kerrygold and the topping. I think this would be a nice cocktail for happy hour, enjoyed outside during these last few weeks of summer.
Salted Cream Earl Gray Tea Cocktail
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1-1/2 ounces bourbon
3/4 ounce Kerrygold Irish Cream
1/2 ounce Earl Gray tea syrup (recipe follows)
1/3 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice (about half a medium lemon)
pinch black salt or pink salt, optional
- Make your salted cream by beating the heavy cream a few minutes until just about soft peaks form. Stir in sea salt. Set aside.
- Next, in a shaker 2/3 filled with ice, pour in bourbon, Kerrygold Irish Cream, Earl Gray tea syrup, and lemon juice. Shake hard about 20 seconds, and then strain into a highball glass filled with ice.
- Top the cocktail with the salted cream and optionally sprinkle some additional black or pink salt for added saltiness and contrasting color.
Earl Gray Tea Syrup
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
2 bags Earl Gray tea
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water over high heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Bring to just about a boil and then remove from heat. Add in tea bags and let steep, covered, for 30 minutes. Then strain into an airtight container. Use immediately or refrigerate up to one month.
Procrastination has gotten the better of me this week as we speed, much too fast for my liking, into the 3rd month of the year. March is looking to be the most jam packed month yet this year as I’ve said “yes” to maybe one too many events, my mother is in town, and we celebrate multiple birthdays, St. Patrick’s Day (I am a 1/4 Irish), and Easter. So of course, instead of working on projects, I’ve been covering my ears and eyes going NAH NAH NAH NAH NAH and making batches of brownies and spending copious amounts of time photographing my purse contents.
It’s like a cocktail, but you eat it: Irish Coffee Jello Shots.
So here’s the thing. I enjoy an Irish Coffee from time to time; like, a few sips and then I’m usually done. It’s a lot of hot coffee and I’m usually drinking it late in the evening when a giant hot coffee is not really what I want right then. I’m also usually drinking them at a party or an event and bless their hearts for trying, but the coffee is usually not very good either. To control this situation for myself, and hopefully for you all, let’s get a delicious coffee and miniaturize it with the right amount of booze and not force people to drink giant hot coffees at 8pm.
I went ahead and created a straight up Irish Coffee version, garnished with the tiniest of lemon peel, and then bastardized it and went crazy adding in chocolate and Fernet Branca because I love chocolate mint anything including my coffee and for this one occasion, with my whiskey. Ooooh, I’m so crazy…
The original version of these has a strong, rich coffee flavor with a hint of whiskey at the finish. The cream is mixed in so you’re not trying to eat a delicate jello shot while whipped cream melts all over your fingers – gross. For the mocha-mint version, you get a lot of Fernet (a little goes a long way!) with a strong mocha finish and a more subtle whiskey punch at the end.
Irish Coffee Jello Shots (Makes 24, 2/5 ounce shots)
Are you guys into these? I have a few more ideas up my sleeve I’ll be rolling out over the next few months.
