It’s not so long ago that I wrote about a coffee liqueur here. And today the focus is again on one, but this time not from the other side of the world, but from the capital Berlin. It is created by Finn and Jan, two chefs who felt obliged to create their own coffee liqueur based on natural ingredients, which should not only act as ingredient for mixed drinks, but also be a flavorful wake-up call as a neat liqueur. The result is CO’PS Kaffee-Kolanuss-Likör (Coffee Cola Nut Liqueur). (provided test product)*
However, before I briefly go into the product background, it should be mentioned from the outset what is obviously also very important to the producer: the high caffeine content. According to the manufacturer, a double “shot” of this liqueur contains as much caffeine as a strong espresso. The liqueur is produced by a specially developed maceration process (about which, however, unfortunately no details are revealed). This process takes four weeks and is based on Arabica coffee, kola nut, an undisclosed alcohol and a sweetening source (it is simply to assume sugar), after all, it is a liqueur so there must be at least 100g invert sugar per liter. With 30% vol., the liqueur finally comes into the really beautifully designed bottle, reminiscent of a slightly curved, glass hip flask. The name of the liqueur, CO’PS, goes all out for the police flair – with a policeman’s face on the label who looks as if he has risen from the 80s and has just mercilessly tagged Burt Reynolds a ticket at the Cannonball Run. While I don’t quite understand the choice for this branding, I still kind of like it. However, I guess everyone has to make their own judgement here.
Tasting Notes:
Aroma: The nose presents a very interesting picture. The strong and pronounced coffee note is immediately noticeable, with a light fruity touch of red berries, but also some raisin and a subtle citrus note, but at the same time it still wouldn’t pass for coffee in a blind tasting. A certain sweetness can already be sensed on the nose, in addition, there is a spicy-fruity background, which becomes more prominent with time.
Taste: CO’PS coffee cola nut liqueur is undoubtedly a liqueur, because it is relatively sweet. For my taste, I would also say that I might have welcomed a little less sweetness, but well, it is a liqueur and it is also by no means the case that the sweetness flattens everything else. Rather, there’s this interesting note of kola nut that now maps the spicy, fruity hints from the nose onto the palate. An association of orange, full-bodied arabica coffee with only a very slight bitterness and caramel.
Finish: sweet with kola nut and fine bitterness, medium-long.
In short, this is definitely a nice coffee liqueur. If you’re really hoping for a full-on authentic bitter coffee, you might find CO’PS Coffee cola nut Liqueur a bit sweet and will probably be a bit irritated by the kola nut, but if you take it for what it is (and pretends to be from the get-go), you’ve got a thoroughly versatile instrument in your hands here for cocktail use as well. And that’s what I wanted to show with a twist on the classic Manhattan.
Recipe: “Cop Chiller
5 cl Rye Whiskey
1 cl Mancino Chinato
1,5 cl Carpano Antica Formula
1,5 cl CO’PS Coffee Cola Nut Liqueur
2 dashes The Bitter Truth Bogart’s Bitters
8 drops of salt tincture (see below)
Salt tincture: simply add 20g of salt to 80 mililiters of water, shake in a small screw-top glass until the salt is dissolved.
Preparation: stir all ingredients in a mixing glass on ice until cold and strain into the pre-cooled glass. Sprinkle with the oil of an orange zest
Glass: Martini
Garnish: orange zest
Buying sources: At specialized retailers or online
*The fact that this product has been sent to me free of charge for editorial purposes does not – in any way – imply any influence on the content of this article or my rating. On the contrary, it is always an indispensable condition for me to be able to review without any external influence.
