Houston's Best Brunch Drinks

Houston's best brunch drinks: Crazy good coffee cocktails are shaking up the breakfast-lunch world

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to entertain more . . . why not think brunch?

Hosting a weekend brunch for family and friends can be as elegant or as easy as you like. If you’re Martha Stewart than fire up an omelet station and serve fresh baked goods, but if you want to sit back and relax than just set out an assortment of bagels (from Hot Bagels maybe) and some cream cheeses and lox, onion and capers. Make it self-serve and you’ve got a fun and easy way to entertain.

Of course, the best part of brunch is the booze (otherwise it would just be breakfast, wouldn’t it?) And you can do self-serve cocktails as well. How about a Bloody Mary bar with all the fixings?

Or you can serve these delightful little cocktail shots from LIQS, found at most local liquor stores (about $8 for a three pack). They come already mixed and in cute little cups that you can serve them from or guests can pour them over ice into a glass. They come in four flavors including a vodka, lychee and grapefruit cocktail that’s very good.

And for a really fresh idea, why not a self-serve coffee bar? Set out booze and toppings. If you have a selection of K cups and a Keurig it couldn’t be easier.

Here are some tips and recipes for your brunch coffee cocktails:

1. Coffee Selection: Espresso, decaf, vanilla, mocha or hazelnut.

2. Base spirits: Tequila, brandy, cream liqueurs and whisky are best. Base spirits, such as Partida Tequila, Amarula Cream and Calvados Boulard, will blend well with coffee.

3. The Trimmings: Set out cocoa powder, marshmallows and whipped cream, but don’t forget cinnamon, sugar, edible disco dust, milk and cream.

Coffee Cocktail Recipes

Amarula Coffee Surprise
Amarula Cream, the world’s second-largest selling cream liqueur, is a blend of fermented marula fruit and fresh cream.

2 oz coffee
2 oz Amarula
1/2 oz brown sugar
2 marshmallows
whipped cream
hot chocolate or coco powder

Pour coffee, Amarula, brown sugar and marshmallows into a coffee mug, stir. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of chocolate powder.

Bonus: add a shaker and ice to your coffee bar to make an iced Amarula Espresso Martini.

Amarula Espresso Martini
1 1/2 oz Amarula Cream
1 oz vodka
1 oz fresh brewed espresso
ice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Martini glass and garnish with espresso bean.

French Coffee
Calvados is a luxurious French brandy crafted from apple distillate and it adds an all-natural seasonal flavor to your mug.

1 1/2 oz Calvados Père Magloire
2 oz coffee
3/4 oz sugar
whipped cream

In a glass cocktail mug, add fresh brewed coffee, sugar and Père Magliore, then stir. Top with whipped cream and enjoy.

Café Pacifico
Created by Jacques Bezendehout
Partida is an ultra premium tequila and beautiful agave based spirit.

1 1/2 oz Partida Blanco
1/2 oz Coffee liqueur
4 oz fresh brewed hot coffee
3 bar spoons cinnamon and sugar mix
Heavy cream

In a glass mug add tequila and coffee, then mix in the cinnamon and sugar. Float Heavy Cream on top of the coffee. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar mix on top and add a cinnamon stick.

Note: For the cinnamon sugar mix, in a bowl combine four parts granulated white sugar and one part ground cinnamon.

Making cocktails with coffee is not just a great way to delight the brunch crowd but according to recent research coffee may also help lower liver enzymes . . . so mixing booze with coffee may be a winning combination.

Amarula Cream, a cream liqueur blending fermented marula fruit and fresh cream.

Photo courtesy of Amarula

Amarula Cream, a cream liqueur blending fermented marula fruit and fresh cream.

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cheers to that

Texas bourbon named one of 2024's top 10 whiskies

Still Austin Whiskey Co. Red Corn Bourbon Whiskey

Still Austin Whiskey Co./Facebook

Now if only we could snag a bottle...as a Christmas gift, of course.

Three cheers for Still Austin Whiskey Co.! The distillery's Bottled in Bond Red Corn Bourbon Whiskey was recognized as one of Whisky Advocate'sTop 20 Most Exciting Whiskies of 2024.

Every year, Whisky Advocate's expert panelists rank hundreds of whiskies based on their quality, availability, value for the price, and "X-factor," meaning an excitement-inducing component like a unique flavor or an innovative idea. An international panel also reviews contenders through several blind taste tests without knowing each whisky's producer, origin, age, or price.

The magazine ranked Still Austin's five-year Red Corn Bourbon No. 7 on the list with a prestigious score of 94 points. The Red Corn whiskey, which was released in June 2024, has mash bill consisting of 36 percent Jimmy Red corn, 34 percent white corn, 25 percent rye, and 5 percent barley.

According to panelist Shane English, tasting notes start big and bold with cracked pepper, dusty leather, and cocktail cherries, before moving on to a palate of chile pepper, caramel, and buttery cornbread.

"Each sip is electric — the pepper gives this whiskey a zing balanced by poundcake and glazed doughnuts," English said. "Charred oak fades to chocolate, coffee, and pecan pie on the finish."

Still Austin had the only Texas product on the list, which was fitting given the brand's recent boasting that it could match any Kentucky Bourbon. As a game day stunt when the Texas Longhorns played the Kentucky Wildcats in November, Still Austin refilled empty Kentucky Bourbon bottles with its own Cask Strength Bourbon for just $1.

When the brand isn't playfully antagonizing Kentucky fans, its Red Corn Bourbon sells for a retail price of $85 per 750-milliliter bottle, falling nearly in the middle of the price category out of all 20 bourbons on the list, with eight others priced for less.

For additional context, none of the top five bourbons fall under a $100 price tag. In fact, the most expensive bottle on the 2024 list is the Angel's Envy 2023 Cask Strength Port Wine Barrel Finished Bourbon, which ranked No. 12 and retails for $230 per bottle.

"Our top 20 whiskies represent a curated collection that deserves your attention. Each whisky on the list stands out for its superb taste, representing the pinnacle of a year filled with remarkable tastings," said executive editor David Fleming in a release. "This list features whiskies offering exceptional value, leaders in their respective styles, and superbly made expressions that are well worth seeking out."

Whiskey Advocate's 2024 Whiskey of the Year is Laphroaig Elements 2.0 Cask Strength Scotch Single Malt, which earned 95 points and retails for $165 a bottle.

whiskey bourbon distilleries awards lists