Flor de Café

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 45 ml Flor de Caña 12yo;
  • 15 ml Sourdough Miso Syrup;
  • 45 ml Filtered Coffee
  • White Chocolate & Buttermilk foam

Garnish: Cacao dust and Orange zest

Technique: Sous Vide, Bain-Marie, Foam, Built

Glassware: Ceramic Tumbler

Earth Day – 22nd April 2024

Sustainability is one of the most heartfelt topics in our industry and has increasingly gained global awareness.
On Earth Day, observed on April 22nd, people come together to raise awareness of global climate change and take action to preserve Mother Earth.

For this special occasion, we’ve chosen to collaborate with one of the most sustainable producers out there, Flor de Caña.

Additionally, we’re thrilled to have Melbourne bartender Tom McHugh join us, who is well-versed in sustainability and the winner of the 2022 Asia Pacific Title in the Sustainable Challenge.

For this purpose, Tom decided to share with our community the recipe of his winning cocktail: Flor de Café.


The Inspiration of the Classics

For this cocktail recipe, Tom focused on the renowned classic cocktail, the Irish coffee.
With this in mind, Tom collaborated with the chef team of Hazel Melbourne to create some essential homemade ingredients, reducing bar waste and maximising on the available ingredients of the restaurant.

The Sourdough Miso Syrup

Tom and the chef team collaborated in creating a miso paste from scratch! They used leftover sourdough bread, a regular part of the chefs’ routine, fermenting crumbs and leftovers with koji.

After the fermentation process, Tom adapted this ingredient for a cocktail using the following steps:

  • Add 75g miso to a container.
  • Pour in 500ml of hot water.
  • Stir to dissolve, then strain through a coffee filter.
  • Add a 2:1 sugar syrup (500ml miso water to 1000g caster sugar).

The Buttermilk and White Chocolate Foam

The creativity of our Melbourne bartender didn’t stop there; Tom decided to create another homemade ingredient: a delicious foam for his final cocktail.
This time, Tom used buttermilk, a byproduct derived from butter production, which happens in-house at Hazel
By combining buttermilk and white chocolate, readily available in the chefs’ pantry,
Tom maximised the collaboration between the kitchen and the bar and applied an incredibly sustainable touch to the drink.

This is quite exciting — to see both the bar and kitchen operating at the same level.

Unfortunately, we often encounter amazing restaurants with disappointing drink lists, or vice versa, bars boasting advanced techniques like fat washing and rotovapped spirits, only to offer basic food like French fries and toasties.
Don’t get me wrong! – There’s nothing wrong with a good old toasty, especially in our beloved dive bars, but visiting a bar that excels in both areas truly enhances the overall experience!

Even the most basic recipes and concepts can be elevated to something extraordinary with sufficient passion and attention to detail.

Here’s the foam recipe:

  1. Add 300g of buttermilk to a container.
  2. Add 300g of white chocolate.
  3. Melt the contents using a sous vide or a bain-marie.
  4. Transfer the mixture into a syphon, then charge it with N2O.
  5. Maintain at 10 degrees Celsius for service.

To delve deeper into what makes Flor de Caña a sustainable brand, we asked Brand Ambassador — Mitch Townsend to share insights about his brand.
Read more in the next article! 

Now it’s your turn to give this a try!
Share your questions, pictures, and tags on social media. You can find the video of this creation on our page. If you enjoy our content, please leave a like and follow us for more.
Let us know what you’d like to see in the next recipe!

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Got a question about crafting the perfect cocktail or need advice on stocking your home bar?  Drop us a line and let’s raise a glass to your inquiries!

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Cheers to great drinks and good vibes!