Why you should be drinking coffee cocktails

Coffee cocktails aren’t new. Splashes of whiskey have been turning after-dinner coffees Irish for years — but a perfect storm’s been brewing and just brought this stone-cold drink trend to new heights.

Bars, restaurants, and even some coffee shops (the ones that can get liquor licenses, that is) are developing elevated takes on the age-old combination of booze and caffeine. Complex and unexpected, today’s coffee cocktails run the gamut from sweet to smoky, and they’re about to wake you right up.

So what’s shakin’? As coffee and cocktail culture both continue to boom, drinkers and makers are on the constant hunt for something new.

“You just can’t be a normal coffee shop any more,” Charles Babinski of L.A.’s G&B Coffee says.

The winner of the 2015 U.S. Barista Championship and runner-up in the world championship that same year, Babinski embraces the signature, more playful drinks he finds in so many coffee shops these days. (G&B made headlines a couple years ago with its iced almond and macadamia milk latte.)


more on theweek.com