Copper Hearth
A hot rum and coffee drink: dark rum, coffee liqueur and cinnamon syrup topped with fresh hot coffee in a preheated glass, with an optional cream float and grated cinnamon.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz / 45 ml Dark rum
- 0.5 oz / 15 ml Coffee liqueur
- 0.5 oz / 15 ml Cinnamon syrup (house recipe in batching notes)
- 4 oz / 120 ml Hot coffee, freshly brewed
- 1 oz / 30 ml Heavy cream, lightly whippedoptional
- Technique
- Hot
- Glass
- Irish coffee
- Ice
- None
- Prep
- 5 min · Intermediate
- Garnish
- Freshly grated cinnamon over the cream, or a cinnamon stick resting in the glass when served without cream.
- Approximate strength
- about 10% ABV in the glass
- Allergens
- Dairy
Method
Preheat an Irish coffee glass or a handled mug of at least 8 oz (240 ml) capacity (the drink is 6.5 oz without cream and 7.5 oz with it, so a 6 oz Irish coffee glass will overflow): fill it with hot tap water, let it stand 30 seconds, then pour the water out and dry the glass. A cold glass can crack when hot coffee hits it, and a preheated glass is hot to hold, so handle it by the stem or handle and serve it on a saucer.30 sec
Warm the glass the way you would warm a room before a guest arrives.
Measure the rum, coffee liqueur and cinnamon syrup into the warm glass.
Molasses, roast and bark: the pantry shelf nearest the fire.
Pour in the hot coffee and stir with a barspoon for about 5 seconds until the syrup is fully combined.5 sec
The coffee goes in and the whole glass turns the color of a copper pan.
If using the cream, pour it slowly over the back of a spoon held just above the surface so it floats in a layer rather than sinking.
A pale cap over dark water, poured slow enough to stay.
Grate fresh cinnamon over the top and serve at once on a saucer, telling the guest the glass is hot.
Cinnamon dust on top, and a quiet word that the glass carries heat.
Flavor notes
Molasses and brown sugar from the rum, roast and gentle bitterness from the coffee, cinnamon warmth on the finish; the cream float cools the first sip. Served hot; please enjoy responsibly.
Substitutions
- Dark rum: Bourbon, 1.5 oz (45 ml) · Turns it into a cinnamon Kentucky coffee: more vanilla, less molasses.
- Coffee liqueur: Rich demerara syrup, 0.25 oz (7.5 ml) · Drier and a little less coffee-deep; raise the coffee strength to compensate.
- Cinnamon syrup: Rich demerara syrup, 0.5 oz (15 ml), with a cinnamon stick stirred in the hot drink for 30 seconds · Less cinnamon in the body, more on the nose.
- Heavy cream: Chilled coconut cream, lightly whisked, 1 oz (30 ml) · Dairy-free float; it fits the rum and brings a faint sweetness of its own.
Without alcohol
Combine 4 oz (120 ml) hot coffee, 0.5 oz (15 ml) cinnamon syrup, 0.25 oz (7.5 ml) rich demerara syrup and a drop of vanilla extract in the same preheated glass, float the cream and grate cinnamon on top. Serve with the same hot-glass care.
Batching
House preparation, cinnamon syrup: 1 cup (200 g) white sugar, 1 cup (240 ml) water, 4 cinnamon sticks broken into pieces. Bring to a simmer in a small saucepan, stir until the sugar dissolves, simmer 2 minutes, then cover and steep off the heat for 1 hour. Strain and bottle. Keeps refrigerated 3 weeks. Batch for 8 drinks: pre-mix 12 oz (360 ml) dark rum, 4 oz (120 ml) coffee liqueur and 4 oz (120 ml) cinnamon syrup; this base keeps refrigerated 1 month. Pour 2.5 oz (75 ml) into each preheated glass and top with 4 oz (120 ml) fresh hot coffee from a carafe kept hot. Never heat the batch with the spirits in it. Cold version for warm evenings: shake 1.5 oz (45 ml) rum, 0.5 oz (15 ml) coffee liqueur, 0.5 oz (15 ml) cinnamon syrup and 1.5 oz (45 ml) cold brew concentrate with ice for 10 seconds and strain over a large cube; grate cinnamon on top.
Dark rum, hot coffee and cinnamon, served warm
A copper pot on the hearth, a jar of cinnamon sticks, and the smell of coffee from the next room: this is the drink that comes after the walk back in the cold. Copper Hearth is a hot rum coffee built in a warmed glass, with coffee liqueur and a house cinnamon syrup for sweetness and spice, and an optional cap of lightly whipped cream so the first sip arrives cool and the second arrives warm. It is made for the hour when the fire is down to embers and nobody wants to go out again.