This pistachio cold brew cocktail is an alcoholic iced coffee, and one of the simplest iced coffee cocktails to make at home: 50 ml coffee liqueur and 100 ml cold brew coffee poured over ice, 20 ml pistachio cream stirred through, then whipped cream and crushed pistachios on top. Once the coffee base is in the fridge it takes about five minutes, with no shaker, no blender and no sugar syrup. Below is Michelle's original recipe, with the swaps, shortcuts and variations added. It is a drink for hot days and summer evenings, and the coffee keeps it from tasting like dessert.
What you need for one glass
- 50 ml coffee liqueur. We use our Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur, made in South Tyrol by cold brewing 100% Arabica beans, with notes of caramel, chocolate and roasted nuts. Any coffee liqueur will do.
- 100 ml cold brew coffee, chilled. Shop-bought is fine. To make your own, or to use espresso instead, see further down.
- 20 ml pistachio cream. The jar in Michelle's photo is our Pistachio Crème, a Sicilian spread made with 40% pistachios. For a smoother, stronger glass, our Pistachio Cream Liqueur, made with cream from the mountains of Trento and real pistachios, pours straight in instead.
- Ice cubes. Large ice cubes melt more slowly, so the drink stays strong for longer. One large ice cube in a tumbler works too, if you prefer a short drink.
- To finish: whipped cream (optional) and a few crushed pistachios.
You will also need a tall glass and a long spoon.
How to make the pistachio cold brew cocktail
- Fill a tall glass with ice. Fill it right to the top, because a full glass of ice melts more slowly than a few cubes.
- Pour in the liqueur and the coffee. Add 50 ml Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur, then 100 ml of your chilled coffee base.
- Add the pistachio cream and stir well. Loosen 20 ml Pistachio Crème with a splash from the glass, then stir it in for about ten seconds, until the colour is even all the way down. If you use the liqueur instead, pour it straight in and stir.
- Top with whipped cream, if you like. It makes the drink richer and gives the pistachios somewhere to sit.
- Garnish with crushed pistachios. Scatter a few over the top and serve straight away.
Getting the pistachio right
The spread and the liqueur give two different drinks. The spread, as in Michelle's photo, makes it thicker and more obviously nutty, and a few flecks will settle as you drink, so give it another stir halfway down. The liqueur blends in completely and keeps the cocktail smooth and pale. Start with 20 ml of either, taste, and add another 10 ml if you want the pistachio to lead rather than the coffee.
For the garnish, unsalted pistachios keep the drink sweet, while lightly salted ones give a sharper contrast with the cream. Chop them roughly rather than to a dust, so they sit on top instead of sinking. Serving these after dinner? A pistachio truffle on the side keeps the theme going.
No cold brew in the fridge?
Cold brew is coffee made by soaking coarse-ground beans in room temperature or chilled water for 12 to 24 hours, then straining them, as Wikipedia's cold brew entry describes. Our cold brew iced coffee with pistachio cream walks through the method, beans and grind in detail, and makes enough for several of these cocktails.
For a drink tonight, cool two shots of espresso, about 60 ml, and add 40 ml water to make up the 100 ml. No espresso machine? Strong cafetière coffee works. Either way, chill it in the fridge for an hour first. Do not pour hot coffee straight over the ice: it melts the ice and thins the drink before you have tasted it.
Make it stronger, lighter or alcohol-free
Pistachio espresso martini
Shake 30 ml Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur, 30 ml Pistachio Cream Liqueur, 25 ml vodka and 30 ml fresh espresso hard with ice, then double strain into a chilled martini glass. A pinch of crushed pistachios on the foam takes the place of the three coffee beans an espresso martini usually gets, or use a twist of orange peel.
Irish cream iced coffee
Swap the pistachio cream for 20 ml Irish cream, or another liqueur from our cream liqueurs range, and finish with chocolate shavings instead of pistachios. Our Salted Caramel Cream Liqueur is another easy swap, because the caramel picks up the caramel notes already in the coffee liqueur. Use the same 20 ml and stir just as well.
Mocha
For a chocolate version, swap the pistachio cream for 20 ml chocolate liqueur or crème de cacao, add a splash of milk, and finish with grated chocolate. A few drops of vanilla extract round it off.
A lighter glass
Halve the coffee liqueur to 25 ml and make up the difference with oat milk. It stays a coffee drink, with less alcohol and a softer pistachio note.
Alcohol-free
Leave out the liqueur, use 150 ml chilled coffee, and stir in a heaped teaspoon of Pistachio Crème with 10 ml simple syrup. Simple syrup mixes in straight away. If you add sugar instead, use brown sugar dissolved in a spoonful of hot water first, because sugar dissolves slowly in an iced drink and sinks to the bottom.
Four at once
This iced coffee cocktail scales up easily. For a jug, use 200 ml coffee liqueur, 400 ml chilled coffee and 80 ml pistachio cream. Stir, keep it in the fridge, and pour over ice to order, adding the cream and pistachios glass by glass.
Three questions people ask
What alcohol goes well with iced coffee?
Coffee liqueur is the natural match, because it adds coffee flavour as well as alcohol. Cream liqueurs such as Irish cream, dark or spiced rum, whiskey or bourbon, and vodka all work too. Start with 25 to 50 ml per glass.
What is coffee with alcohol called?
Hot coffee with Irish whiskey and sugar, topped with cream, is an Irish coffee. Iced versions have no single name: recipes call them alcoholic, boozy or spiked iced coffee, or a cold brew cocktail when cold brew is the base. This recipe is all three.
Can I use espresso instead of cold brew?
Yes. Cool two shots of espresso, about 60 ml, and top up with 40 ml water, which brings it to the 100 ml the recipe uses.
This is a drink for adults: in the UK it is against the law for anyone under 18 to buy alcohol, as GOV.UK sets out. For more coffee and liqueur, our Baby Guinness recipe layers coffee liqueur under Irish cream in a shot glass (our Baby Guinness gift set has both liqueurs), and our coconut rum cocktails include a coconut espresso martini made with the same Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur.
Shop the recipe: Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur in four bottle sizes and a jar of Pistachio Crème, or Pistachio Cream Liqueur for the smoother version.
