Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Cognac & Other Brandy Cocktails

The Morning After

By
Liquor.com
Liquor.com

Liquor.com has been serving drinks enthusiasts and industry professionals since 2009. Our writers are some of the most respected in the industry, and our recipes are contributed by bartenders who form a veritable "Who's Who" of the cocktail world.

Learn about Liquor.com's Editorial Process
Updated 12/5/22
Morning After cocktail in a rocks glass, with one large ice cube and a mint sprig garnish
The Barrow House

Shawn Gorga, the lead bartender at The Barrow House in Clifton, New Jersey, created the Morning After, a bold and caffeinated cocktail. It sings of wintry holidays and works equally well after dinner as it does the next morning, so apply it to your life as needed.

Gorga begins with VS cognac, combining it with coffee liqueur, Averna amaro, Xila liqueur, cold-brew coffee and chocolate bitters. A mint leaf garnish provides cooling green notes and fresh fragrance with each sip.

The double dose of coffee with cognac and amaro creates bitter and earthy flavors, but the real hero within might be the Xila liqueur. It’s made in Mexico from the agave plant and features caramelized pineapple, lavender, ancho chile, hibiscus flower, clove, cinnamon and black pepper. It lends spicy undertones to the drink that pair deftly with the cognac, coffee and chocolate bitters.

Mix up a Morning After to keep your evening going or to start your day. Either way, you get to enjoy a great drink featuring unexpected flavor combinations—so you can’t lose.

Ingredients

Steps

  1. Add the Camus Intensely Aromatic Very Special cognac, Mr. Black coffee liqueur, Averna, Xila liqueur, cold-brew coffee and chocolate bitters into a shaker with ice and shake briefly to chill.

  2. Strain into a double rocks glass over a large ice cube.

  3. Garnish with a large fresh mint leaf.

*Use your favorite bottled cold-brew coffee or make it yourself by soaking 140 grams ground coffee beans in a coffee filter with 32 ounces water for 12 hours. After steeping, remove the grounds from the coffee filter.