Read More
Tequila Recipe
Repo Cold Brew
Coffee lovers and tequila lovers unite! This tequila cold brew recipe is made with reposado tequila and strong coffee for a vibrant flavor experience. With only three ingredients, you can make it at home.
Time to make: 10 minutesServes: 1
The rich coffee flavor of cold brew makes for a delicious mixer. Try your hand at this simple cocktail packed with flavor, pairing the best of coffee and tequila.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz. Reposado Tequila
- 2 oz. Milk (Any Kind)
- 1 oz. Cold Brew Coffee
Directions
- Combine tequila and milk in a cocktail shaker with ice. (Optional: Add 0.25 oz. simple syrup for the sweet tooth.)
- Shake and pour into a rocks glass with fresh ice.
- Pour over cold brew coffee.
In this recipe
What is cold brew?
Cold brew coffee is made by steeping ground coffee in room temperature water for several hours. Unlike drip brew, in which coffee is made quickly using hot water, cold brew tends to bring out less acidity from the beans, for a smoother flavor.
It does, however, tend to have a stronger flavor, due to concentration. Drip coffee tends to have a ratio somewhere from one-part coffee to sixteen to twenty-parts water. Cold brew ranges from one-part coffee to anywhere from four to twelve-parts water.
What is reposado?
Reposado is a type of tequila that is aged less than a year but longer than two months. Unlike blanco, which is not aged, reposado has time to sit in oak casks, imbuing it with vanilla, oak and caramel tones. However, it has been aged for a shorter period than añejo, which means the agave flavor is still stronger. This places reposado right in the middle.
Reposado lends itself to this cocktail recipe with its vanilla and caramel flavors that blend with coffee. Unlike the sharper tones of blanco, reposado’s deeper flavor profile complements a delightfully warm experience.
Variations to customize your repo cold brew cocktail
This drink is so simple, you can switch it up in so many ways. Try some of our tips to concoct your own version of the repo cold brew.
For a sweeter drink
Are you the type to add a little sugar to your coffee? We have a few suggestions. Try one of the following:
Simple syrup
Add 0.25 oz. of simple syrup to the mix before shaking.
Add a sweet liqueur
Add a splash of Baileys Original Irish Cream Liqueur.
Opt for cream
Replace milk with 1 oz. milk, 1 oz. cream.
If you don’t have cold brew
If you don’t have any cold brew and no time to create your own, ordinary coffee will do. To preserve flavor after brewing, allow to cool naturally so as not to dilute with extra ice. Then simply replace cold brew with ordinary coffee.
The higher quality coffee you use, the better the cocktail will taste. Note that drip brew has a more bitter flavor than cold brew, so you may be inclined to add a bit more milk, cream or simple syrup.
To get a little fancy
You’re all about that beautiful presentation? You got it. Add heavy cream to a shaker and shake for around a minute to thicken into whipped cream. Float the cream on top of your drink. To get extra fancy, dust with a bit of cocoa powder and garnish with a chocolate-covered coffee bean. Or, instead of cocoa powder and beans, drizzle with a light caramel.
Switch up the spirits
Can you use blanco tequila? Sure you can! For a sharper taste, swap in Don Julio Blanco or another quality blanco tequila like Casamigos Blanco.
Want less agave and more oak? Go crazy and swap in añejo tequila. Añejo is aged longer than reposado, giving it a deep, complex flavor.
If you want to abandon tequila altogether, make sure to check out our recipes and cocktail kits for other coffee classics like espresso martinis and Irish coffees.
Who first mixed tequila and coffee?
Coffee and alcohol have been mixed since at least the early twentieth century, with the classic Irish coffee allegedly dating to 1943. Coffee liqueur goes back even farther, with Tia Maria claiming origins in the 17th century.
But what about tequila and coffee, or as it has come to sometimes be known, “Mexican coffee”? In the early 1970s, the owner of a Mexican restaurant in Ghirardelli Square took inspiration from a neighboring café’s famous Irish coffees. He invented a Mexican-themed version of the drink using tequila instead. While this most likely wasn’t the first time this cocktail was created, he named the recipe and put it on the menu, contributing to the drink’s popularity.
By the 1980s, “Mexican coffee” appeared in many Mexican restaurants, with appearances in cocktail books by the 1990s.
Get in the mix
Love this recipe? Shaking up cocktails at your next soiree? We'd love to see it. Follow us on Instagram and tag @thebardotcom to show us your serve.