Aluna Coconut Rum – Mocha Espresso Martini and #Giveaway

Mocha Espresso Martini and an Aluna Coconut Rum Giveaway:

I love a good cocktail.  My perfect tipple is full of flavour with a good alcoholic ‘kick’ but with a clean finish and no nasty aftertaste.  And not too sweet.

To acheive all that, it’s vital to start with good base ingredients – and Aluna coconut rum is an excellent example of doing it right.

Aluna Coconut’s Guatemalan Rum is made with virgin sugar cane honey (!) which helps to create a lighter and smoother rum with a natural and subtle sweetness.  It’s a blend of Guatemalan and Caribbean rums cut with a little organic coconut water to make it eminently drinkable just as it is.

But, it is also an excellent base for cocktails – from Mojito to Pina Colada.  And I did develop a real taste for rum cocktails on my recent visit to St Lucia for the Rum and Food Festival

At this time of year there’s so much chocolate in the shops I am drawn to creating a chocolately drink like this mocha espresso martini.  I started by making a chocolate coconut rum infusion which, if I am honest, I kept drinking neat.  All you need is a pack of raw cacao nibs and a bottle of Aluna Coconut Rum.  Mix the same volume of cacao nibs with Aluna Rum in a glass jar and shake gently.  Leave for 24 hours, turning or shaking a couple of times.  Then strain the liquor from the cacao nibs and bottle.  It will keep perfectly well for a month or so, though if you are like me, it won’t last that long.

The classic Espresso Martini is made by shaking sugar syrup, coffee liqueur, espresso coffee and vodka over ice.  I tend to find it a bit over-sweet and leave out the sugar syrup altogether.  But, I wanted to try something different – anyone who has tasted raw cacao nibs or even 70% chocolate will tell you that it isn’t sweet at all, just rich and chocolatey.  My idea was to make a kind of grown-up bounty bar in a glass by using Aluna Coconut Rum and cacao.  With the extra kick of a shot of espresso and a little coffee liqueur, just to make a more complex drink.  You need a good espresso too – but I am lucky enough to have a fabulous Primadonna Elite bean to cup coffee machine from DeLonghi, which makes the ultimate espresso for me!

Here’s how I made my cocktail.

4.69 from 16 votes

Print

Mocha Coconut Espresso Martini

Prep Time

5 mins

 

Course: Cocktails, Drinks

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 50 ml Aluna Coconut Rum Chocolate infusion
• 50 ml Espresso Coffee Freshly made and Chilled
• 25 ml Coffee Liqueur Tia Maria or Kahlua
• 25 ml Sugar Syrup if required

Instructions

1. Make the chocolate rum infusion at least 24 hours in advance by mixing together equal parts of cacao nibs and Aluna coconut rum, infusing for 24 hours, stirring occasionally, then straining and bottling

2. Make the sugar syrup by boiling 2 parts water to 1 part sugar.  Bottle and use as required

3. Mix together all the ingredients except the sugar syrup and taste.  Sweeten with sugar syrup as required, then shake over ice for 3-5 minutes

4. Strain into a martini glass and serve, or for a longer drink, serve on the rocks in a tumbler

Recipe Notes

For a variation, use a coffee cream liqueur such as Baileys.  

You can add a float of single cream or coconut cream as required

I have to say, for me, this is the kind of post-dinner cocktail that means I don’t want a dessert and don’t need coffee!

Now, if you’d like to try for yourself, you can buy Aluna coconut liqueur from Harvey Nichols, or online via 31Dover, Amazon or Masters of Malt.  And, you can always chance your hand and see if you can win a bottle.  It retails for around £25 and I have a bottle to give away to one lucky London-Unattached reader.

All you need to do is follow the rafflecopter through, remembering to leave me a comment on the blog letting me know your favourite way to drink coconut rum.  If you need any ideas, just check out the Aluna website where you’ll find plenty more coconut rum cocktail recipes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Like the look of this cocktail?  Why not pin this post for later