Drink of the Week: Damn Fine Coffee Liqueur

The new school of coffee liqueurs diversifies by the day, and we’re excited to see more and more collaborations between roasters and distillers. The latest one to debut—a project devised by Slingshot Coffee and Durham Distillery—is delicious and versatile, and it happens to be today’s Drink of the Week.

Slingshot founder and CEO Jenny Bonchak says as a fan of cocktails, she had mulled over the idea of creating a coffee-related spirit or liqueur from the early days of Slingshot, so teaming up with the team at Durham Distillery to make the product under the name Damn Fine Liqueur was a natural move. Slingshot uses a Finca el Puente coffee as the base (sourced in Honduras and roasted by Counter Culture), which is cold-brewed and then blended at the distillery. A touch of orange blossom honey and local molasses sweetens the mix ever-so-slightly to ensure that the “coffee stays the hero in the liqueur and the sweetener serves only to complement it,” Bonchak says.

The liqueur is balanced with earthy undertones from the molasses and pops of citrus from the orange blossom. It adds an autumnal warmth to a classic Daiquiri or a subtle pop of orange zest to a White Russian. It also tastes amazing poured over vanilla ice cream.