Coffee Rum-tini

Congratulations!  You made it through Monday!  That's reason enough to celebrate for me.  You?  Have you noticed those shiny, milky white bottles on the shelves of your favorite local bar that say RumChata?  Have you done yourself a favor and had your favorite bartender make you a drink with it yet?  Well, do it NOW!  

I first tried this at a Yelp Elite event (check out Yelp Pittsburgh for the local happenings at http://www.yelp.com/pittsburgh) at Cioppino last fall in the Strip District....wow!  RumChata is a rum-infused blend of dairy cream and cinnamon that is bottled in Wisconsin.  If you're familiar with horchata, it's a take on the traditional Latin American drink made with rice.  

As yet, I don't think you can find it in PA State Stores...WHAT is taking so long?!  When it's on a shelves in the bars, you should be able to buy it here.  Grrrr....and they wonder why we Pennsylvanians get frustrated with the system we're stuck with in the Keystone State.  Get with it Pennsylvania!  Of course, Ohio and Michigan have it. (Grin!)

The drink recipe below may sound STRONG!  Chill.  The alcohol content of RumChata is only 13.75%.  Kahlua only has an alcohol content of 20.5% so this is a pretty gentle drink.  Gentle is just fine for a Monday evening of relaxation after the first workday of the week.  Enjoy.  Responsibly.

Coffee Rum-tini

• 4 oz. RumChata
• 2 oz. Kahlua
• 2 oz. cold coffee, plus extra for wetting the rim of the glass (I used leftover pumpkin spice from the morning)
• ice

•  1 t. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 T. granulated sugar

In a small container, mix the cocoa powder and sugar.  Sprinkle this on a small plate, dip the rim of a martini glass in extra cold coffee and rim the glass with the cocoa/sugar mixture.

In a mixing tin, mix the RumChata, Kahlua and coffee.  Add ice almost to the top, cap tightly and shake until the tin is frosty and cold.  Strain into the prepared martini glass and sprinkle with some of the cocoa/sugar mixture to garnish.  Serve.