Carajillo Cocktail Recipe
Espresso shaken cold with coffee liqueur — Mexico drinks it after every long lunch.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 14%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Coffee liqueur50 ml (1.7 oz)
- Espresso30 ml (1 oz)
How to Make It
- Pull a fresh espresso.
- Shake it hard with the coffee liqueur and ice until a foam forms.
- Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.
- Float three coffee beans on the foam.
Garnish
Coffee beans
What it tastes like
The sweetness is pronounced and there is roasted coffee in it.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Coffee liqueur
- Coffee liqueur. It is not a stand-in for coffee — it is very sweet and low in caffeine; in drinks with espresso the two are used together, not instead of each other.
- Espresso
- Freshly pulled espresso. Cold coffee will not foam — the crema on top of an espresso martini comes from hot espresso hitting ice in the shaker.
The Story
Spanish by origin and originally hot with brandy, but Mexico rebuilt it cold around Licor 43 and made it entirely its own.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Carajillo mixed?
- It is shaken and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Carajillo?
- Roughly 14% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Carajillo be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Carajillo hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
The main ingredient here is also a dream symbol: Coffee in a dream
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.