I like my Coffee Hard

One day, I was minding my shopping in Costco when I stumbled upon these coffee cocktails in a can. Being a women curious about the espresso martini craze, I decided to pick it up. I was pleasantly surprised with how delicious each flavor was that it made me think about creating cocktails and desserts with it. I decided to start looking at pairing flavors to make the cocktail stronger but not adding too much sugar. It's a delicate balance of moving the base forward and improving the flavors without coming away with a headache!

Irish You Wish

Irish coffee Cocktail

Ingredients

2 oz Rebel Hard Irish cream

1 oz Irish Whiskey

3/4 oz Baileys

Three dashes of Chocolate Bitters

Garnish: Chocolate drizzle in the glass

Recipe: This cocktail is simple elevation. By bringing more Irish flavors and strength to the Irish cream can, this cocktail makes for a sweet treat. All you have to do is pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Give a nice shake and pour into an old fashioned glass. I like this cocktail because it brings two of my favorite ways to drink Irish whiskey: with cream or Irish eggnog and with coffee. It's perfect for sipping after dinner or before. For the chocolate drizzle, you can use chocolate syrup lightly in the glass or as much as you wish. This does add more sugar so definitely keep a water near by to help with the alcoholic sugar rush!

Salted and Sauced

Bourbon and Salted Caramel Cocktail

Ingredients

2 oz Rebel Hard Salted Caramel

1 1/2 oz Bourbon

1/2 oz Almond liqueur

Six dashes of Smoked Cherry Bitters

Garnish: Luxardo Cherry

Recipe: This is another simple elevation (are you sensing a theme?). This cocktail mixes the sweetness of bourbon and caramel with the sharpness of almond and cherry. It's a perfect afterwork delight at home. To make this cocktail, your pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Give it a nice shake and gently pour into your coupe glass. Whenever you are working with cream, it is essential to focus your pour and making sure that the cream doesn't stay in the shaker and separate from the alcohol. It's a tricky first time thing but then you get the hang of it.

It's French Bitch

Vanilla White French

Ingredients

2 oz Rebel Hard Vanilla Latte

2 oz Cherry French Vodka

1/2 oz Kahlua

Garnish: Pink Glitter and Luxardo Cherry

Recipe: This is like my version of a White Russian. I like to make my dessert cocktails kind of martini style so they are strong and worth it but also delightful. This one is one of my favorites because it plays on cherry and vanilla and can be the perfect after dinner drink or aperitif after any meal. All you have to do is pour all ingredients in a cocktail shaker (you can add ice but I wouldn't suggest it). A dry cocktail shake and pour into a chilled martini glass. Use some glitter, a luxardo cherry, and maybe even some espresso beans to really show it off. This cocktail is the strong and sweet type. The one that always gets you in the end!

PRO TIP: These cocktails are perfect for any occasion and any type of year. Just hop on the bandwagon. You won't regret it!