Happy Hour | The Cuppa Joe Cocktail

Sometimes we all need a little wake-me-up at the end of the day. What better time than to get your caffeine fix than Happy Hour.

Photos: 2013 Cocktail Guide

Coffee and bourbon are a perfect pairing, and this cocktail made with homemade coffee liqueur hits the spot.  The recipe is easy enough for you to do to keep enough on hand if you’re imbibing at home after a long work day.

The Cuppa Joe

• 2 oz. Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
• ½ oz. Twinkle’s Coffee Liqueur
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Liqueur
• 1 oz. of heavy cream
• ½ oz. Orange bitters
• Orange peel

Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass and fill with ice.

Shake until well chilled and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish with orange peel.

Twinkle’s Coffee Liqueur

2 cups of honey
1 whole vanilla bean, slit up one side
½ ground coffee or espresso
2 cups water
1 cup vodka

Heat water, vanilla bean and honey until dissolved and just boiling.

Turn off heat and pour over ground coffee and let sit for one hour.

Add vodka and water and bottle.

Let liquid age for three weeks.

Photos: 2013 Cocktail Guide

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twinkle VanWinkle was born in a small town in Mississippi. A life-long lover of music, media and food, she grew up following those three things along her path. She has almost 20 years of professional cooking under her apron strings, feeding thousands of friends, family and other folks while working in restaurants and bakeries in Oxford, Miss. She baked 300 apple pies for the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and appeared on “The Best Of...” in the same year. Along with producing dynamic entertainment content for LIN Media, she is a mother, musician and social media fanatic.

Follow Twinkle on Foodspotting, Tumblr and Twitter.