I was introduced to the Coffee Cocktail at an Oregon Bartenders’ Guild event last April. David Wonderich, the author of a biography-cum-cocktail book on the pioneering 18th Century bartender Jerry Thomas, presented stories from that book with drinks. One of these was a brandy, port, and egg cocktail that I found delicious. Called the Coffee Cocktail for its color, but it has no coffee at all. Actually it is an opaque brown-purple color, and noticeably thick. It is similar to eggnog in mouthfeel and tastes of raisins.
I multiplied the recipe that David Wonderich gave in his book, Imbibe!, to party quantities (about a third of a gallon), making a couple adjustments. I pulled back on the number of eggs, though, assuming that a modern large egg would be larger than a hen’s egg from 140 years ago. And I added water and milk to account for the dilution resulting from shaking the original drink.
Coffee Cocktail, in quantity (about 10-12 servings)
Beat 6 whole eggs with 10tsp sugar, then
add 10oz brandy.
Blend in, then
add 10oz tawny port,
add 10oz ruby port,
add 5oz water, and
add 3oz whole milk.
Chill for one hour.
Ladle into glasses, and
garnish with ground cardamon.
This is a really tasty cocktail for cold and windy weather.
