Hi cocktail babes! I talked about this Cold Brew liqueur from Trader Joe's in another blog post a few weeks ago and I had a few questions about it so I decided it needed it's own post with a full review. I picked this up a few weeks ago - it maybe seasonal so if you're interested don't wait too long, which is exactly what I did with the Pumpkin Spice liqueur I was actually looking for.

The bottle says this is a coffee + cream liqueur. I love sweet cocktails, especially in the winter, and liqueurs are so simple to enjoy so I was hooked. For the purpose of this review, I'm going to try it three ways: at room temperature, chilled over ice, and mixed in a fresh cup of coffee as the TJ's cashier suggested. So let's do it!

Here is my official review of the Trader Joe's Cold Brew Liqueur:

This liqueur is really creamy which is  perfect for winter in my book. My overall impression of the Trader Joe's Cold Brew Liqueur is that it is lighter than I expected. It isn't nearly as rich as other cream liqueurs I've tried and the flavors are also lighter. The coffee flavor is there but its not overpowering. It is sweet but not overly so. It is just lighter than I expected on all fronts.

When I tried it at room temperature I did the most coffee flavor.  Over ice, it was just like a lightly flavored iced coffee - in a dangerous-while-trying-to-be-a-responsible-adult way so watch out for that! And when I mixed in with a cup of coffee, it was almost like I had just added cream and sugar to my coffee as normal, the booze just blended right in again. I think this Cold Brew liqueur when iced or mixed in coffee could be the most perfect, under the radar, day drinking Irish style coffee.

For me, the winning combo was served over ice. When I tried it a second time I used coffee ice cubes to kick it up a notch and garnished it with a mini donut which was perfection. I highly recommend serving it this way as an extra special treat.

One shaker = not sweet at all  // Five shakers = your teeth may curl

This Trader Joe's Cold Brew liqueur isn't nearly as sweet as I expected it to be. It is lightly sweetened but it's more creamy than anything. It still feels like a dessert drink but it is not over the top sweet.
 

One shaker = does this have booze? Five shakers = OG Four Lokos

Officially this one rings in at 34% ABV which is pretty strong for a "ready to drink" cocktail (I know liqueurs are technically cocktails but stay with me here) but it is so rich that it would be hard to drink too much on it's own so I'm not sure you'd notice the high alcohol content unless you really drank a lot of it.

Would I buy this ready to drink cocktail again?

Yes, I think I would. This liqueur will be on my go-to list for a night cap this winter.

I do have my eye on another one of the seasonal Trader Joe's liqueurs, the Cocoa Cream which I'll be reviewing soon, so TBD on which one will earn a repurchase from me. Stay tuned . . .

Until next week cocktail lovers! Cheers! 

Shop this review:

Hi cocktail lovers! I'm switching it up a little bit this week because Covid has officially hit my blog - plus I'm like to mix it up. I haven't received any new canned cocktails in the mail for a few months as the cocktail brands are also in the midst navigating this weird time, so I'm all caught up with what I had on hand and I thought I would take this little break to try something new. 

This week I'm going for a coffee cocktail theme post with desserts as garnish for a sweet treat. First up, I'm using a canned cocktail as an ingredient in a cocktail recipe. Then I'm trying a *probably* seasonal liqueur from Trader Joe's. I hope you enjoy this post. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Pumpkin Spiced Latte cocktail using Cafe Agave Spiked Cold Brew:

I am a big fan of the Spiked Cold Brews from Cafe Agave (you can read my reviews here and here) so when I saw this recipe on their Instagram I had to try it. The recipe calls for one of their Vanilla Cinnamon cold brews - aka my favorite flavor from their line - to create a blended pumpkin latte. I'll post the recipe below but it is basically a big spoonful of canned pumpkin, a shot of dark rum, and a full can of their Cold Brew. You put all of that in a blender and whip it up.

So how was it?

I really wanted to like this cocktail because I love anything pumpkin spice but this was a miss for me. It was okay but I thought it was more trouble than it was worth. (If you love to make cocktails, please take my opinion here with a grain of salt. I live for easy cocktails which is why I'm so obsessed with trying all the canned cocktails and ready-to-drink cocktails I can get my hands on.) In this case, I'd say skip this recipe and just drink the cold brew straight from the can. The canned cocktail alone is so yummy and it is 12.5% ABV so it is pretty boozy on it's own. You won't even miss that extra shot.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cocktail Recipe:

1 can Cafe Agave Vanilla Cinnamon
1 oz dark rum 
2 tbs pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin spice
1 tsp cinnamon

Add can of Cafe Agave Vanilla Cinnamon, dark rum, and pumpkin puree to blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mix into a glass. Garnish with pumpkin spice and cinnamon.

 Cookie Cocktail Garnish:

I liked the idea of serving a dunkable cookie with this cocktail so I went with a pumpkin mandolin from Trader Joe's.

With the cookie flat on my cutting board, I slide my Swizzly™  in at a 90 degree angle to the side of cookie aiming to get right it in the thickest part of the cookie. Then used the first, vertical notch to securely rest the cookie garnish across the top of my glass to keep the cookie nice and dry until I was ready to dip it in the cocktail. 

It was the perfect pumpkin touch to top of this rich cocktail.

Trader Joe's Cold Brew Coffee & Cream Liqueur:

One of my very favorite things about the weather turning cool is the new types of cocktails I know I'm going to enjoy. Late Fall and early Winter just calls for richer, creamer cocktails and liqueurs - next month I'll be bringing you a few of my favorite hot cocktails, make sure to come back for that. 

When I spotted this new cold brew liqueur at Trader Joe's I couldn't put it in my cart fast enough. The bottle says you can drink it straight or on the rocks. The checker at TJs said she puts it in her coffee for an even bigger coffee kick. Personally I poured mine over coffee ice cubes and garnished it with a chocolate covered donut.

So how was it? A-mazing! It was amazing. I am in love with this liqueur. It is rich and delicious without being overwhelmingly sweet or to strong in the coffee department. It is 17% ABV so it is boozy but as rich as it is, you'd probably be sipping this anyway so it is the perfect amount of booze to gently relax you. I highly recommend running to Trader Joe's right now and picking some up. It might be a seasonal items so grab it while you can.

Mini Donut Cocktail Garnish:

I really liked the idea of serving this liqueur with a mini donut as a grown up version of the traditional coffee and a donut breakfast. I picked up a bag of mini chocolate covered donuts, a guilty pleasure of mine that I usually try to avoid, and tried not to eat the whole bag until I had a chance to pair them with the Trader Joe's liqueur. 

I wanted the donut to be secure on my Swizzly so I put it through the cakey part of the donut rather than going through the hole. With the donut flat, I brought the Swizzly in from the side and slide it all the way through the donut so the end of the stick was poking out the other side.

Then I used the second, angled notch on my Swizzly to hang the donut from the side of my glass on the outside so it would stay dry. You could also hang it from the inside so the donut could soak up the yummy liqueur. Or you could place it flat across the rim for the perfect flat lay photo like I did in the first photo.

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you want to grab a set of the glittery Swizzlys I used in this post you can grab them from my shop here or use the button below. Cheers!!