3 of the Best Coffee Cocktails at Sober Company

Ah coffee, that beautiful black liquid gold, restorer of faded hopes and builder of personal empires. Like humanity it originated in Africa and has spread to all corners of the globe, a legal drug more pervasive than cannabis and as addictive as crack.

There is a trend for coffee cocktails right now. We set out to find the best in Shanghai, so we hit Sober Café part of Sober Company, which was recently voted number 19 in the top 50 bars in Asia.

Ryohei (Roger) Yamagishi, barista/barman at Sober Cafe showed us how to make three of the best coffee cocktails out there. We love our Espresso Martini and Irish Coffee, but Roger made us three modern coffee cocktails built around the coffee flavor rather than the coffee taste.

Below is a list of all the coffee cocktails available at Sober Café:

Coffee & Tonic (on tap)

Espresso Martini

Freddo Cointreu

Coffee Mojito

Caffe Negroni

Coffee Milk Punch

Bourbon Cappuccino

Irish Coffee

All coffee used at Sober Company is GABEE coffee from Taiwan.

Caffe Negroni (RMB65)

Roger tells us it was an arduous task to get the right combination for this drink. He tried to infuse the gin with coffee, but the flavor was too strong. He then tried to infuse the Campari with coffee, but it didn't hold the coffee flavor enough. So he settled on making a Negroni mix and infusing the coffee flavor into that.

Ingredients:

Gordon’s Gin

Martini Rosso

Campari

At the bar this is made with a premixed Negroni. They make a classic Negroni, then infuse it with coffee beans for one week at room temperature. After, it is decanted into a bottle and kept in the fridge.

Pour the premixed Negroni over ice and lightly stir. Garnish with orange peel.

The overriding flavor should be coffee and it is, but it’s a very clear taste, it’s not too overpowering. In fact the taste is pretty much like a classic Negroni, but with a coffee bean flavor, rather than an espresso taste. It has a wonderful aroma, a beautiful mix between the sweet orange zest and the bitter coffee. This should be drunk as an Aperitivo, but if you like both a Negroni and coffee you’ll love this drink.

Coffee Mojito (RMB65)

This drink is made with a homemade cold brew. It’s a standard recipe with a taste that isn’t too bitter. To make this a soda CO2 is added to make the drink carbonated.

Ingredients:

Barcadi Carta Blanca

Cold brew soda

Lime juice

Fig leaf syrup

Mint

In a glass muddle the mint and then add a splash of the cold brew soda. Add the lime juice and fig leaf syrup. Stir together to release mint flavor. Add the cold brew soda, then add ice and stir. Top with ice and garnish with a sprig of mint. Drink with a straw.

This drink is bursting with flavor! It’s carbonated to give the Mojito feeling, but no sugar is added, all the sweetness comes from the lime juice and fig leaf syrup. Roger told us they tried adding brown sugar, but the sweetness was too heavy, and with white sugar the sweetness was too light. The fig leaf syrup has a hint of Chinese medicine about it and this balances the sweet lime with the bitter coffee.

This drink has a beautiful light flavor and makes this Mojito a perfect summer drink. As Roger tells us, this is made to drink outside in the sun.

Bourbon Cappuccino (RMB65)

Although this has the simplest ingredients, we’re assured that it’s the hardest to make: It takes both the skills of a barista and a barman to make. The drink uses Wild Turkey Bourbon, which is traditional light bourbon with a slight orange hint.

Ingredients:

Wild Turkey Bourbon

Canadian Maple Syrup

Steamed milk

Orange peel

Triple shot of espresso

Add the Bourbon and maple syrup to a cappuccino mug and twist the zest of the orange to release the aroma into the mug, and then top with the steamed milk. This takes the skills of a barista to do well. Now add the filtered triple shot of coffee to the drink.

The thing here is the triple shot of espresso is put through a special filter, developed just for this drink. It extracts the coffee oil, which baristas usually want to leave behind. It also condenses the triple shot into a single shot of liquid and brings out a salty taste without adding any salt. Garnish with a square piece of orange peel. Believe us, it works.

The taste is slightly salty with a strong aroma of orange. The first sip gives you a beautiful warming feeling. If the other two drinks are a cocktail with a coffee flavor, then this drink is a coffee with a cocktail twist. The bourbon comes through strong at the end.

Overall there is a buttery taste and a traditional coffee buzz to the drink. Once you start drinking you can give it a stir and it turns into a cappuccino. It’d be great to have one of these to start your day everyday, but alas it’s probably best served after a hearty three course meal.

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