Grape & Grain | Mug shots: a look inside the spirited world of liqueur coffees

It used to be traditional in many cultures to serve a small, strong cup of coffee at the end of a dinner party – it was the host’s signal that the evening has come to a close.

Many countries have a signature after-dinner coffee drink, and most of the time, the drink is based on a liqueur from that country.

The French have a diverse range. Anything from cognac or brandy to Benedictine or Grand Marnier. The Monte Cristo is made with Grand Marnier and Kahlua, and the origin of the drink is not known – was it named after the Alexandre Dumas book, The Count of Monte Cristo, or the island of Montecristo, that gave the book its name?

Irish coffee is coffee fortified with a shot of Irish whiskey and a cube of sugar (it’s really unpalatable without one in my opinion) before being topped with cream.

The Germans put a shot of schnapps in their coffee, and it can be anything from kirschwasser to cinnamon or butterscotch schnapps. Peppermint schnapps, with its palate cleansing taste, is popular; and if you don’t like coffee, a nip of the same liqueur in a hot chocolate is delicious (it’s called a Chocolate Polar Bear).