Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/17414
CATEGORY REPORT notable mixologists and baristas from around the country to create the perfect Baileys iced-coffee cocktail. Some of the cocktails were simple, while others included more imaginative/creative ingredients like egg white and syrups for people to try at home.” Shots and Party Drinks Out at the bars though, Ford and other bartenders are mixing creams into all sorts of drinks. The Savoy Tivoli, in San Francisco’s hip North Beach neighborhood, caters to a mix of young local and European tourists fresh out of college. Many of their calls are for lower-alcohol, sweet, creamy—and often sensual-sounding—liqueur drinks. These include the B-52 (Irish cream, coffee liqueur and orange New Pusser’s Rum Cream is based on a classic navy rum made in the British Virgin Islands. Cold Coffee Cocktails Muiris Ó Riada, the Senior Brand Manager of William Grant & Sons’ Irish brands, says that although Carolans is the number two Irish cream liqueur in the world (number one in some coun- tries), it is almost totally an off-premise brand in the U.S., most often served neat, over ice, and in coffee. In coffee in particular, Ó Riada says, “Carolans substitutes brilliantly for milk or cream in hot white coffee, latte and cappu- ccino as well as in cold frappé.” Perhaps because of all the dessert- style cold coffee drinks being cranked out at Starbucks, customers are looking for boozy versions of these same con- coctions. “I’ve seen cream liqueurs a lot recently in iced coffee,” says Kyle Ford, a bartender at San Francisco bar Savoy Tivoli. “Dessert iced-coffee drinks seem to be the trend lately.” Some Irish cream brands are actively promoting cold coffee cocktails. Bill Topf, Vice President, Gins and Liqueurs for Diageo, says “This summer, Baileys launched a program called Baileys Barista and Bartenders, which paired 64 / the tasting panel / october 2010 Dapper bartender Kyle Ford shows off Irish cream liqueur cocktails served at San Francisco’s Savoy Tivoli. PHOTO: LIZA GERSHMAN