Spanish Coffee
A stemmed glass with a crackling caramelised sugar rim, rum and orange liqueur, hot coffee and a float of whipped cream with nutmeg. Despite the name, it comes from Portland, Oregon, and the flaming of the rim is what makes it.
At a glance
- Coffee : spirits
- 3:2
- Active time
- 5 min
- Total time
- 7 min
- Makes
- 1 glass
- Serve
- Hot, with cream
- Kit
- Heatproof glass
Ingredients
Note: The overproof rum is for the flame. Most of it burns off. Normal-strength rum will not light reliably.
Method
-
Sugar the rim
Run the lemon wedge round the rim of the glass and dip it in sugar so a thick band sticks.
-
Rum in and light it
Pour the overproof rum into the glass. Hold the glass by the stem, tilted, and light the rum with a long match. Turn the glass slowly so the flame caramelises the sugar round the rim.
Keep the bottle capped and well away. Thirty seconds is enough.
Flame 30 seconds -
Triple sec into the flame
Pour in the triple sec. The flame rises briefly. Many bars pour it from height in an arc. At home, pour from close.
-
Coffee liqueur and coffee
Add the coffee liqueur, then the hot coffee, which puts out any remaining flame.
-
Cream and nutmeg
Float the lightly whipped cream over the back of a spoon and grate nutmeg over it. Serve at once.
Why this works
The flame is there to caramelise the sugar on the rim. Burning overproof rum is hot enough to melt sugar and start it browning, so the rim turns from loose white crystals to a glassy, crunchy, slightly bitter caramel that you taste with every sip. That bitter-sweet edge against hot coffee and orange is what gives the drink its character. A rim of plain sugar is much flatter.
Overproof rum is used because normal-strength spirit does not burn reliably, especially in a small amount. At around 75 percent alcohol, a small measure lights easily, burns hot and long enough to do the job, and most of its alcohol burns away. The drink is not as strong as the amount of spirit poured suggests.
The rest is a layered coffee cocktail. Triple sec brings bright orange, coffee liqueur brings sweetness and body, and the hot coffee carries it all. The lightly whipped cream floats because it is full of air and because the sugar and liqueur in the coffee make the liquid below denser, the same principle as an Irish coffee.
The drink is a Portland institution. Huber's, the city's oldest restaurant, began making it tableside in the 1970s, and its bartenders became known for pouring the liqueurs from great height in a long arc. Nobody seems sure why it was named Spanish.
Variations
- Without the flame: rim the glass with caramel or demerara and skip the rum. Safer, less crunch.
- With brandy: in place of the overproof rum, for a softer flame and flavour.
- With Licor 43: in place of the coffee liqueur, for vanilla.
- With cinnamon: a pinch on the cream instead of nutmeg.
This recipe sets overproof spirit alight in a glass. Use a thick, heatproof stemmed glass, hold it only by the stem, keep your face and hair back, keep the bottle capped and far away, and never pour from a bottle into a flame. Do it on a stable surface away from anything flammable.
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Questions
What is a Spanish coffee?
A flaming coffee cocktail from Portland, Oregon: overproof rum flamed in a sugar-rimmed glass, then triple sec, coffee liqueur, hot coffee and whipped cream.
Why is it called Spanish coffee?
No one seems to know. It is an American drink, made famous at Huber's in Portland from the 1970s.
Do you need to flame a Spanish coffee?
The flame caramelises the sugar rim, which is what gives the drink its crunch and bitterness. You can skip it and use a caramel rim instead.
What rum do you use for Spanish coffee?
An overproof rum, around 75 percent, which lights easily. Normal-strength rum may not catch.