The darker the roast the more bitter notes you will get the lighter the roast the more flavour you will get from the bean and the area it was grown in as coffee beans present pull flavours of the plants in the area arrond them

My new favourite Kiwi.. wearing a shirt with both Texas and Whiskey is my new best friend!! Hell yeah!!

the giggles during the taste test imply that this must have been the 4th or 5th take ;)

I went about it differently and used espresso shots and added that to the bourbon along with caramel syrup to get the dessert profile.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Ah yeah nice. Makes sense. I will need to try that.

@BlazRa

2 жыл бұрын

Nice

I would recommend a coffee designed for the sole purpose of COLD BREW. Don'st skimp out on the coffee beans, either. You might start by researching what flavors can even be produced by a cold brew roast. Then, visit a local roaster that produces beans specifically marketed for cold brew (I just saw a few varieties at my local roasters today). Ask the guy/gal behind the counter to recommend one with flavor profiles you think will work with your spirit. [My personal preference would be to try to find one with a chocolate and brown sugar profile. Cold-brewing, and certainly extracting with ethanol, will undoubtedly change what flavors can be extracted from the coffee. I am unsure if a "nutty" quality is possible this way, but that would be my preference if it were.] Try a couple roasts, perhaps just as normal coffee at first OR in some small samples of your base spirit. Find a flavor that works with your spirit. I would then try a batch with cocoa nibs and without cocoa nibs. I imagine the nibs are there to emulate the bitterness that a hot-brewed cup of coffee may have, since cold brew does not easily produce this quality. Might be what you want, might not be - so maybe try both. I've never tried making a coffee liquor, but here's what I imagine I would personally try: I would go with a base-spirit aged with medium toasted maple (to add a bit of sweetness and brown-sugar flavors), and then use a cold brew that will give some strong chocolate/nutty (if possible) flavor. You asked for coffee recommendations, however, similar to spirits, "the art" of coffee lies in the vast, nigh unending possibilities when it comes the final product's characteristics. How the coffee tastes is dependent on how the bean is treated starting with the tree and ending with your cup. I've tasted coffee that perfectly imitated the flavor of a blueberry. I've also had coffee that tasted like roasted almonds, all on its own. And, to make it more complicated, while I rather enjoyed those flavors - other might not. So, to recommend a specific roast or origin would be doing you a disservice. You will need to experiment and find what works best for your taste. However, I'd imagine that a coffee designed to have good flavors when extracted without heat would be a good place to start.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Dude, thanks for dropping the knowledge! It seems I have a lot of reading / sampling to do!

@taylordawson4323

4 жыл бұрын

Hey Kevin, would you recommend doing the extraction with or without alcohol? I.e. Brew the cold brew separately then add it to the base spirit and let set for a few days? As a side note I had a coffee cocktail at the Starbucks Roastery in Seattle. It was by far the best one I have had yet and I believe this is due to the fact that they used a light-medium roast coffee where the distinct flavour of the coffee was able to come through the alcohol and other flavours. That being said I would be interested in trying this with a fruity Ethiopian. Could produce a very unique and distinguished flavour. Cheers! 🥃

@teastation9396

4 жыл бұрын

@@taylordawson4323 Let me preface this by saying that I am not an expert. I'm just a bit of a geek who happens to love coffee, chemistry, and enjoy designing alcohol. I'm throwing my thoughts into the mix in hopes they inspire the community to experiment. I believe that both methods would be equally valid. There is a point to be made about steeping the coffee beans directly in the alcohol, however. The alcohol is, by nature, going to change the flavor profile of the coffee. It would not surprise me if some of the flavor compounds in the boiling-water-prepared coffee end up denaturing or reacting once added to the alcohol. IE by extracting the coffee with water, possibly you are limiting the flavor compounds produced to those that are water-soluble. Possibly alcohol-soluble compounds being left behind in the bean. Then, that limited supply of flavor compound could be affected when introduced to the alcohol. It should also be noted that you're also watering down the coffee in this process, then diluting it more by later adding un-coffee-fied alcohol. [This to me could be why the typical coffee liqueur from the shelf doesn't have a very potent coffee flavor.] The other aspect is temperature; the alcohol-free extraction method would have you create a simple syrup and essentially boil the coffee (which is not exactly a fool-proof way of properly extracting the coffee to begin with, unless you like bitter coffee). And, unfortunately, brewing it any other way would dilute the flavors even more. An espresso or your typical consumer-grade coffee was designed to be enjoyed hot. You'll find that cold coffee has a much different flavor than hot coffee. This is why my recommendation was to select a cold brew coffee bean and to extract directly into the alcohol. The cold-brew is designed to taste good extracted this way and by experimenting with the coffee directly steeped in alcohol, you'll be able to identify the right bean for your application a lot quicker. You're also going to get as many flavor compounds within that particular volume of alcohol as possible - so the flavor should be, in theory, a lot more potent. Then, if you wanted to dilute the proof down - just add properly brewed coffee with some sugar. I'd wager you'll get a very strong coffee flavor this way. Long story short, I'd personally try both methods with your selected bean. Just don't be surprised if the hot-water method of extraction has an off flavor or tastes watered down. Some recipes I have seen use espresso to concentrate the coffee as much as possible - this might be a good approach, especially if you combine with a coffee-steeped alcohol.

@TheBubblyBartender

2 жыл бұрын

This response was what I needed!! Thank you

So, I thought we could be friends, but hearing how you think bacon smells better than it tastes....LoL:-) Awesome video dude. I gotta try this!

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Dont get me wrong mate. Its more like when I smell it I think "I would burn the world for some of that!" then tasting it I think "yeah I would ransack a village for this". I also think that sometimes the bacon we get at the suppermarket etc is a little average here.

@BeardedBored

5 жыл бұрын

@@StillIt LoL, ok I guess that makes sense. Sorry the NZ bacon is lackluster. I'll ship some Texas bacon to you...oh, right nevermind:-(

Hi Jesse Using mild roast will give you some nice nutty notes less bitter and other much nicer flavors to the mix. And as some other person said use coffee shots after all it has been produced with the best possible extraction ( 1 would hope ) ask a coffee shop to collect there wasted shots for you find 1 using a mild roast that you like. I make a killer espresso martini mix with a sugar wash coffee shots vanilla extract and sugar syrup Let it settle for a couple of day you will see why. Add to a shaker with ice job done. Cheers Tony.

Great timing! I've been trying this myself as of late.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Nice, how is it working out? Doing it in a similar way? Or do you have some tips for me?

@robbybgood9687

5 жыл бұрын

I've just been using coffee as mix and exploring different sugars, strengths. Vanilla and cream are nice additions.

This was good to watch. I was infusing coffee into rum at the moment

Any coffee labeled Italian Roast is roasted well over second crack producing burned charcoal! Most likely Robusta sub standard from Brazil(you might as well put carbon into your recipe!) . Try some first crack light roast, even a natural or honey processed coffee from Colombia or Guatemala, over 1700 meters. The taste will be much better!

You cant drink all day unless you start in the morning! Great vid, going to give it a go for sure. I have UJSSM and BB Rum on oak. I'll pick up a couple small bottles of commercial spirits to compare. Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective and tasting notes.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers mate! nice to see your name pop up mate!

Coffee varies hugely by origin, variety, and roast. When most people think of what coffee smells and tastes like, they'll usually think of Central or South American coffee roasted moderately dark. For this kind of thing, I'd probably go for a dry processed Brazil of good quality roasted to full-city (dark uniform colour, smooth texture, ideally no surface oil). That will usually give a chocolate and roasted/pralined nut sort of profile with low acidity. I tend to avoid exotic coffees when I'm making coffee flavoured stuff and go for a more familiar coffee profile.

Made a coffee shine from second hand grinds from the office. It'll be two months on second use american and french oak next week, and it's awesome on it's own but makes a great coffee liquer and even cream when macerated back in coffee grinds. Nice video showing the tasting. Next is a coffee rum, but instead of macerating the coffee grinds on a rum - I want to disolve the mollasses in hot coffee (using the same method I used the last time) and once it's done, distill and wood it.

I just made some off this with Crigler Coffee and holy liquor was it amazing! Crigler Coffee is some of the best coffee on earth and paired with liquor only made it better! I used half commodores reserve and half The Skitcher Expresso Roast 🔥🔥🔥

The grinder you've got there is a blade grinder, I would recommend a burr grinder, or taking your coffee to a local coffee shop to get it ground. Those blade grinders tend to create an uneven particle distribution, and tend to create a large proportion of fines (think of that as super fine coffee dust) that extract very quickly because of their small size. As a result of the fines over-extracting, the flavor turns from well balanced, to bitter and astringent. It might sound silly, but there is a bit of method to the madness. The coffee shop/roastery I run uses $3000 grinders with $800 burrs grinding discs, and you can adjust the particle size from very fine (used for espresso) to very coarse (used for cold brew.) Based on this application, I would go with a much larger particle size, and go super coarse and extend your contact time to the 3-5 days, but flavor is always king. I also think a medium roasted Central or South American coffee would be what you are looking at. Lots of chocolate, nuts, caramel notes, and just enough fruity acidity to add balance to those dark base notes. Maybe medium roasted Java, PNG, Indonesia, or Bali if you are looking for more funky fermenty earthy, pipe-tobacco, cedary notes. If you can't get it ground at a shop , try grinding very coarse on your blade grinder, passing through a fine mesh kitchen sieve to collect the boulders to discard, and then spread the coffee evenly over a damp paper towel. A lot of the fines will be left clinging to the wet paper towel, and use the coffee that you've yielded like normal. Total pain in the ass, but I've definitely made coffee this way at relatives houses. Sometimes I'm too much haha.

Tried it, but added a bit more of the cocoa nibs and used a simple syrup instead of maple syrup to proof it. Came out tasting excellent!

@StillIt

4 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Im glad you are putting your own spin on it :)

"Coffee always smells better than it tastes.." Yes! I totall.. "same as bacon." BLASPHEMY! ;)

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

HAHAHAHA

@damianc8551

3 жыл бұрын

The smell of bacon is repugnant to me

Kirkland maple syrup, love to see people use Kirkland products. Cheers!

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Hahah, yeah man. A awesome viewer sent me the bottle :)

I can't believe I've never thought to do this I love making all types of flavored liqueurs

@BlazRa

2 жыл бұрын

I came up with the unique one that no one else has ever come up with I can't tell you about it cuz I'm pretty sure I can take it to Market at some point

Funny I was going to research this for a coffee Kolsch, Thank you

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Ah wow that sounds good!

starting a coffee liqueur using a simple spirit from a sugar wash. infusing a small amount of course ground in with the alcohol. second part is cold brew made with a simple sugar. this will be blended back in to the alcohol to proof it down.

I wonder if that cherry flavor is maybe an almond extract?

Great vid as always Jessy. You fancy getting the tools out again? I would love to see you turn your sight glass into a bubble plate. Still in Canada has a good vid on this but I find your vids more detailed, easier to follow if you don't already have the skills ... Something for the future maybe 🙏🏻

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers mate. I have watched his video many times actually haha. I certainly do not have the skills. But I would be willing to try at some point. But . . .. . . you may want to have a look at my instagram. You may see something bubbly there . . .. . .

There are profiles of beans to work with the same way there are profiles of whisk(e)ys to work with. and they could probably blend pretty well. Mexican cofees are lighter and more acidic with some spice notes, Sumatran is gonna be heavy rich chocolately and earthy, columbian is gonna be sweeter and nutty. and on and on. You would want to blend the cofees with either a complimenting or contrary whickey I would imagine.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Right so the same idea as food pairing. Either double down on a flavour, or do something contradictory to create something new?

@garrickbrewer8907

5 жыл бұрын

@@StillIt thats what I would imagine. So you said you get some butterscotch notes of the UJSSM (i cant remember what notes you picked up in aging) To compliment that, you might wanna try to do a lighter roast of coffee that is more acidic and a little sweet, maybe peruvian.

Hey Jesse I seen in another video that you like Woodford reserve. I was wondering if you have tried the woodford reserve double oaked and what you think of it. Thanks and keep chasing the craft. love the videos

Just starting to play with coffee, in my beers and to follow in my spirits. I roast my own beans mostly and a lighter roast does give much more flavour. The origin is also important. I think a nice PNG Mountain bean would work well, nice chocolaty finish. Going to be doing a whiskey liqueur , with some essences and may have to do a batch of my own as well for comparison. Was aiming for more the Drambuie type, but hey it doesn't matter too much, me thinks. I also think you would get a better sweetness if using white sugar other than maple syrup. Great vid as alway....

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Interesting! How hard is it to get into roasting your own?

@littlejohnsbrewing9199

5 жыл бұрын

@@StillIt Easy. I just use a popcorn maker. So only small amounts, but can do about 150gm in 1/2 hour. Whatever roast you want and can play around with bean origins.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

huh! THat is VERY interesting!

@davedrewett2196

2 жыл бұрын

@@StillIt you can also use a bread machine on the dough cycle with a heat gun directed into the mixer. Get it to the first crack then turn down the heat. Lighter roasts are the way to go for liqueur.

Perrhaps a single malt aged in toasted beech or hazelnutwood, fits good with coffee

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

wow, that sounds rather exotic!

@Tendzere

5 жыл бұрын

Is it possible to add like toasted hazelnut wood to clear spirit? I've never heard of it but it sounds rather yummy that pretty much my favorite combination coffee and hazelnut

@claudesilverio677

5 жыл бұрын

Surely, when you have a good dried hazelnutwood, toast it for 2hrs on 180°, and a nice spirit.I would split the spirit after aging, and just use a third for the coffemazeration. I would keep the wood a minimum of 8 weeks in the spirit.But the wood does not taste like the nuts. it s wood.

@Tendzere

5 жыл бұрын

@@claudesilverio677 useful info. How does it taste like or is rather unique flavor?

@claudesilverio677

5 жыл бұрын

woody but , smoother than oak,

I found best results by cold brewing the coffee in water and then using the coffee to dilute the spirit. With a bit of vanilla and you have a very nice khalua.

OK so I'm 4 years behind on a comment here, but although I don't still (cos I'm in UK and that would be naughty ;-) ) I would rate myself as a kick ass maker of real coffee infused drinks For me the best is : 1: A Sugar based vodka (even shop bought if you cant make it ) - dunno? its the one time I rate it over grain For eg I would get a 1.5L bottle , pour out 0.5 L (keep it for something else) 2: Split beans! NOT ground - Medium to Dark Roast, one with a slightly nutty flavour if you can find it For ages I used one called Valknut , but you cant get it anymore You want to infuse and age, it not make a quick maceration , and its amazing how much you can pull out of those beans if you give them a little time on 1L of 40 abv vodka I use around 1 1/2 scoops of coffee beans (a scoop being the measure you would use from grinds into your coffee maker). split the beans (I do this by hand, as I only do about 1.5 L at a time ) but guess you could lightly crack using a wood mallet or something 3: About 5 table spoons of DEMERERA sugar (its used in coffee for good reason) dissolved into about 300ml warm water (or down to the abv you want ) 4: Add all together , swirl and let it all sit in a dark place for a good few days (few weeks by preference) I tend to check it every couple of days and give it a swirl Taste it, (this is why I keep the 0.5L back so I can top up again ) if you want sweeter use some cane sugar syrup or Macadamia Syrup if you want a Kona coffee kind of vibe . Strain / bottle adjust abv if you want (I like it around 35% so rarely have to touch it) add a couple of straight beans for show (cos it looks cool) and serve WELL CHILLED I find this is smoother, and just more very alcoholic coffee than a coffee flavoured drink I've tried cold brew, filtered, even a very very good espresso instant I use for chilled mochas whole bean , ground ... and split bean plus patience just seems to do it I did try cocoa nibs, didn't like it as it stole the coffee essence I love, maybe time I tried again with a different coffee beanor ages I used one called Valknut , but you cant get it anymore

I was expecting something a bit closer to Kahlua so I could share my recipe, oh well I'm just gonna do it anyway. With kahlua-style coffee liqueur I make an extra strong coffee base like you, and then use store bought rum which would be a mix of 2 part gold rum, 1 part strongly spiced rum (something like kraken). It makes a verrrry nice coffee liqueur for black russians.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Mate, that sounds fun. I think I am going to have to try a kahlua for sure.

@Taurickk

5 жыл бұрын

@@StillIt Just be careful you don't bring it near your mates, it'll get mooched real fast :p

Hey, I stumbled here as a coffee nerd, not a distilling nerd. This seems like a fun little project to take on. I wanted to ask: Is there something special about the jars being used to infuse the rum / whiskey? Or are they your everyday glass jars? Also, is the infusion done in a cold environment (fridge) or at room temp. Thanks, greetings from Argentina.

I used 3 scoops of pre ground hazelnut coffee and 2 scoops of pre ground plain coffee with 3 cups of brandy and wacked it all into a blender for three minutes. I used way too much coffee!! Then I used a mettle mesh coffee strainer to strain it two times then used a paper filter one time and had a really strong coffee liqueur in about a half hour the longest part was waiting for it to go through the paper filter.

See you have a new still head and boiler in the background. Can You do a vid on what it brings to the party and and include doing a run through it.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Sure can. Vids are coming soon :)

Considering coffee will extract with water no matter the temperature I imagine if you just put some coffee in some liquor that will do the same thing

Jesse, you've offhandedly talked about filtering your distillate in this and a few other videos. What is your preferred method of filtering?

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Ah when I say filtering here I just mean with a coffee filter or two. I dont use charcoal or anything like that. But I would be totally open to trying some different things./

Maybe try running it through a pur water filter..?

Indonesian, PNG, or monsooned Indian coffee would bring some funk, but it might actually be hard to blend funk with funk. Maybe an Ethiopian or Rwandan coffee (roasted light!) with loads of fruit and floral aromatics would make for a good contrast. Kind of like Wray and Nephew overproof with its huge fruit overlaying the rum funk.

Hey Jesse I see you have updated your column. When are we going to get a good look at it

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Are you snooping my shinny bits?! haha. Yeah video coming soon :)

@BigEdsGuns

5 жыл бұрын

Spotted it too. Jessie you running (or going) perf plates or caps? I am currently building a 3 inch 5 perf plate flute, all copper.

Can one make a Black Berry brandy using this same method . thank for the video .al

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

You totally could. I think that would be a blackberry liqueur though. For brandy you would ferment the berries. Sounds tasty!

So something interesting. He didn't use a proper coffee grinder but instead a blade food processor. This slices and smashes the beans instead of grinding them. I'd like to see how this would turn out with properly grind coffee. What grind size would be best? How does grind size affect flavour? And how would this turn out with a lighter roast specialty coffee? I've got a feeling that it's probably best with a dark roast on a course grind but maybe I'm wrong?

What happens if you make a super strong conventional coffee, then distill that? Does that make a coffee oil try of extract?

Every time I’m getting drunk! You are saying no dunder on your next Rum could you elaborate more on that funky why I’m finally setting up tomorrow for my first one fermentation and planning to do 4 generations. I forgot you have Costco in kiwi 🥝 land! I love my maple sirop it’s Canadian gold!

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Nah I love the dunder funk. Im all about it! But the more I play with it the more I feel it is really just best for drinking it straight. I want to make more of a mixing rum as well, or something to use as a base for liqueur etc. Something more like Bacardi, kraken or lost.

your laugh/giggle sounds like nick Offerman 😁 you look a bit like him too

Maybe a lighter roast with more citrusy notes would go well with the rum? Coffee daiquiri vibe? Haha, maybe it would be awful.

I wonder how those three smell and taste compare with kahlua

"That makes the cherry really pop." :Jesse, May 2019

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

You know it !

A lot of new toys... Big old shiny stainless pot, milk can boiler (next to china still), dephlegmater, 2 new sight glasses and a temp gauge. A Toast my friend: Here's to great goose eye. PS: Check out odin's corn flakes whiskey on HD in tried & true.

Jesse, might I suggest not grinding your beans. Your coffee beans had a nice oil sheen to em (fresh roast?). There's a good amount flavors in just the oils alone.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Interesting I did not know that! Thanks mate

@hellbilly007

5 жыл бұрын

@@StillIt any time man

@manatoa1

5 жыл бұрын

Oil sheen is more often a sign that the beans are old. Really dark roasts and/or age brings oils to the surface. Coffee roasting is one of my hobbies.

@hellbilly007

5 жыл бұрын

@@manatoa1 I guess I was misinformed. Thanks My bad Jesse

What are cocoa nibs ??

One of the reasons coffee smells better than it tastes is because of the darkness of the roast you're using. The darker the roast, the more carbonization you get of the bean fibers. Lighter roasts give you more of the flavor the bean itself. That's why large coffee distributors lean toward darker roasts--its easier to maintain a consistent flavor profile from sample to sample with the majority of the flavor comes from the roasting process rather than the bean.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

And this is exactly why I asked other people to weight in on this! Thanks man I had no idea about that. I feel like I need to get a coffee education!

02:03 Those would be cacao nibs, not cocoa nibs. I'm sure you know the difference but people mispronounce it often so I thought I'd point it out for the future. Cheers.

Can I use tequila?

@StillIt

4 жыл бұрын

Sure man! I mean obviously its going to change the flavour. But thats the cool thing about making it your self. Make it how you want. . . . .. . personally I think a nice aged tequila would work really well.

Maybe add some bacon to it.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

I mean it wouldnt be bad . . . . .

:D

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

:)

A rum or whiskey with charred cherry wood may do the trick>

@StillIt

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah that could work for sure!

I'd like to say this first..bacon tastes as good as it smells .. "besmirching thy holy bacon name is a sure way to earn a trip to the heratical burn pile and purgatory after" .... oh and the 4" sight glass with two extra chambers and a new deflag hidden in the back ..we have to talk about camera position .. way to be a tease...JESSE .....grr

@somerandomguy32

5 жыл бұрын

Ive only used whole beans and drip coffee instead of just water ..takes a little longer but it's less bitter for some reason and you have a better chance of catching it before its to much .. and let it sit for a month after its strained that was the old kahlua but we also used simple syrup ..(it was cheaper)

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Yeah I definitely think letting it sit helps. Interesting about using the whole beans. I could definitly see that making a cleaner profile.

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

HAHAHA I knew I was going to catch shade for that

I’m American what is a coco nub hahahah

Skip to the 2:00 mark. First 2 minutes total waste.

would not recommend dark spirits for coffee or chocolate liqueurs

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Why so mate?

@HoockWoock

5 жыл бұрын

Ok more specifically oak spirits and chocolate/coffee, just think the combined flavor tastes bad

@StillIt

5 жыл бұрын

Fair enough, personal taste then. I think it's awesome. Caramel, vanilla and a little tannin go with coffee well for me. But like I say, person preference. Cheers 🥃👍

@HoockWoock

5 жыл бұрын

Yea, have you btw tried any infusion with a reflux still? That would be interesting to watch, perhaps to wrap some ingredient in copper mesh?