The Pro Tips You Need To Make The Absolute Best Spiked Coffee

Coffee is indeed a great morning beverage for people to start the day with, but that's not the only way you can enjoy this caffeinated classic. You can also combine the flavors of coffee with boozy ingredients to create spiked coffee drinks perfect for when the workday ends. But how do you get the most out of your spiked coffee creations? Luckily, Stephen Kurpinsky, U.S. Brand Ambassador at cold brew coffee liqueur Mr. Black Spirits, has plenty of advice on the subject. He passed it along during an exclusive interview with Daily Meal.

Kurpinsky makes it clear that there's no one correct way to enjoy a spiked coffee drink. The specific ingredients are less important than your personal preference and how you put them together, and that's where you want to focus. Some important things to keep in mind, according to Kurpinsky, are brewing the coffee at the same temperature you'll be enjoying the spiked concoction, building your coffee cocktail in the right order, and always using fresh whipped cream.

Spiked coffee can be pretty versatile, and according to Stephen Kurpinsky, there isn't a particular spirit to universally avoid when you're going for something less complex: "As for a simple 'spiked' coffee, I'd choose your favorite spirit and add a little in, if you like how that tastes, perfect, or you could add a splash of sugar syrup to balance the booze and coffee with a little sweetness." While Baileys Irish cream is a classic choice here, Kurpinsky also suggests Licor 43 or crème de cacao as great options for simpler spiked coffee drinks. Kahlua (whose coffee flavor can even be used to upgrade your next cake), also comes to mind.

Though, it's up to whatever the coffee drinker wants. As Kurpinsky notes, people have been combining alcohol with coffee for a long time, from Irish coffee to espresso martinis to white Russians. As such, it's no surprise that coffee and alcohol are a field ripe for experimentation and creativity — and there's no reason to feel like you're making the wrong choice if you like coffee mixed with a little bit of tequila.

There is no wrong answer for the simplicity versus complexity debate when it comes to spiked coffee drinks. Everyone's interaction with coffee is different, as Stephen Kurpinsky makes clear: "One of the things I think we don't celebrate enough with coffee is that every coffee drinker has a unique relationship with this incredible drink, we all take it in our own unique way." You should never feel like you have to have a certain number of ingredients to justify the end product; just coffee and alcohol are perfectly fine if that's your jam.

This doesn't just apply to the specific ingredients you use to make a spiked coffee, but also the ratios in which you use them. Maybe you love a ton of creamy ingredients like Baileys, or maybe you just need a little bit to avoid a dairy overload — or maybe you just want black coffee with a little alcoholic burst. According to Kurpinsky, there's "no wrong way to do it, only what you might like to drink!"

When you're making coffee cocktails, how you put them together is just as important as what you put in them. Stephen Kurpinsky says that with an espresso martini, "you want to shake that drink extra hard to emulsify the coffee proteins in the cocktail to get that delicious, foamy top to the drink." Since that foamy top is an important part of achieving the right texture and look for this popular cocktail you don't want to skip this step.

Other spiked coffee drinks are made in totally different ways. With an Irish coffee or a white Russian, you build them in the glass itself, layering one component on top of another. An Old Fashioned with coffee liqueur or a coffee negroni, meanwhile, needs to be stirred to get the desired outcome. The construction method matters because the result is going to differ depending on the order and techniques used.

One piece of advice a lot of people might not think of is to brew your soon-to-be-spiked coffee at the same temperature you intend to consume the drink. As Stephen Kurpinsky notes: "Brew hot to drink hot, brew cold to drink cold. Hot coffee is great for hot versions of drinks, but cold brew, flash brew, or coffee that's been allowed to chill are better suited for cold coffee cocktails."

This makes sense when you think about it — if you brew hot coffee and add ice, the ice will melt, watering down the product and diluting the flavor. If you brew coffee cold to drink it hot, meanwhile, you might run into problems during reheating, potentially even burning it. There's also the simple fact that brewing your coffee at its intended final temperature saves you time. It just makes sense to brew your coffee how you're going to be drinking it.

There's another component to spiked coffee drinks that doesn't involve the liquid — the topping, typically something light and fluffy like whipped cream. Stephen Kurpinsky has advice here as well: "ALWAYS use fresh cream! It's super easy to make, and it ensures you have a great, fresh-tasting drink without any of the added stuff they tend to put into commercial products."

Kurpinsky is right, though there are common mistakes with homemade whipped cream, it's super simple to make it yourself. As it only involves beating heavy cream until it's whipped. While you can do this by hand with a whisk, shaking it in either your cocktail shaker or in a mason jar is the simple trick you should be using to make whipped cream. Making whipped cream yourself means your spiked coffee topping will be super fresh, and Kurpinksy recommends "hitting it with a little salt as well." You can even flavor your whipped cream with a splash of chocolate liqueur or orangey triple sec, adding another complementary flavor to your spiked coffee.