11 Best Bourbon Flavored Coffees Ranked
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As if craft coffee roasting wasn't already a tempting artform, artisan roasters are now adding bourbon essence to their coffee. This flavor variant of traditional java shouldn't be confused with bourbon coffee plant, a variety of arabica beans that originated in Ethiopia and Yemen (via World Coffee Research). Bourbon in this instance refers to the distinctly American spirit created by distilling grain mash containing at least 51% corn, based on specific guidelines set forth by the Kentucky Distillers' Association, in the state where the only true bourbon is made.
It turns out the art of aging unroasted beans in bourbon casks to impart flavor is as much a science as it is an art. The challenge is to achieve a blend that keeps both coffee and bourbon notes in the cup. Some users on Reddit who've sampled the goods point out that the spirit essence can overpower the roast. So it's worth calling out when a roaster gets the balance right. These 11 selections of coffees infused with bourbon flavor are the best examples of the happy coexistence that can occur when coffee and bourbon make a Love Connection.
11. Bourbon Infused Buffalo Trace Coffee
Rather than being a coffee roaster that uses bourbon, Buffalo Trace is a Kentucky distillery that creates coffee. Its bourbon-flavored coffee brings 200 years of distillery experience in its Kentucky Straight Bourbon together with 100% Arabica beans for a trademark blend that's only available in individual serving-sized pods. The flavor receives high marks on Amazon, with one reviewer declaring, "Great flavored coffee, not overwhelming!" The company recommends a splash of their Bourbon Cream for a touch of vanilla-flavored luxury.
This enterprising distiller also teamed up with Birdtown Coffee in Ohio for a unique branding collaboration. The small-batch roaster uses Brazilian natural beans aged for 40 days in Buffalo Trace bourbon to create a limited edition whole-bean coffee that fuses the best of both worlds into a premium bourbon coffee offering. The Birdtown blend is a holiday luxury that, like Santa, Frosty, and Buddy the Elf, may only come around once a year, but it tends to sell out when it appears to make the season merry and bright for coffee fans and bourbon lovers alike.
10. Eight O' Clock Vermont Maple Bourbon
Eight O' Clock combines bourbon and maple syrup flavors to achieve a sweet and smoky Vermont Maple Bourbon medium roast ground coffee. It's part of their Flavors of America collection, and captures two classic tastes from wildly different regions of the country. It's a logical decision for a company that makes its home in Maryland, a state nicknamed "America in Miniature" (via the Maryland Office of Tourism). The name on the bag alone conjures the image of crisp New England mornings spent enjoying a steaming cup of flavorful brew imbued with sweetness and warmth.
Their 100% Arabica beans also carry caramel tones among the bourbon and maple profile for a flavored coffee that reviewers on the Eight O' Clock website describe as having "just the right amount of maple and a subtle bourbon flavor." In a twist from other bourbon coffees, Vermont Maple Bourbon is artificially flavored and merely inspired by these tastes, rather than being made using real maple syrup or bourbon. While this may detract from the authenticity, it doesn't seem to impact the flavor or the enjoyment factor.
9. Don Pablo Bourbon Infused Coffee
To create this signature bourbon blend, small-batch coffee roaster Don Pablo soaks raw coffee beans in their trademark Kentucky bourbon and roast them small-batch style until they're golden blond. There is no alcohol left behind, only the essence of "notes of caramel, honey and butterscotch," as they describe on their website. The result is an ultra-smooth mix of sweet and spicy that maximizes both taste and aroma for a full-bodied coffee enjoyment. One reviewer on the Don Pablo site proclaims, "If true bourbon were this good and non-alcoholic, I'd be stuck to the barrel slurping it dry!" There's also a decaf version that lets unleaded fans savor the flavor.
If the smoky taste is too much for you to restrict to the chemex or the coffee pot, the company has also combined its bourbon coffee with peppercorns and sea salt for a seasoning blend for meat and poultry, too. Even the bag gets in on the fun with an old-fashioned bourbon barrel graphic lending to the vibe. Thoughtful touches like this signal Don Pablo's commitment to providing java lovers a quality bourbon coffee experience.
8. Bourbon Coffee Co. Bourbon Barrel Aged Coffee
The company name tells you everything you need to know about what they make and clues you into how they make it. Bourbon Coffee Co. uses the single-barrel-aging process to imbue their Brazilian Arabica beans with the essence of true Kentucky bourbon. This coffee roaster chooses charred oak barrels that have been used to age bourbon for a minimum of four years, with none being retired longer than 12 days before being chosen for their big debut in the bourbon coffee business. Then, the beans are aged to absorb the Angel's Share – or the remaining bourbon that's been absorbed into the oak barrels, as explained by the experts at Southern Distilling Company – to create Bourbon Barrel Aged Coffee. The website describes the process in detail, giving coffee lovers a peek inside the barrel.
A strong second choice from the company may be its small-batch bourbon flavor-infused coffee. In addition to smooth bourbon essence, these magical beans offer a combination of caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, and milk chocolate for a coffee that reads like a dessert as much as a beverage.
7. Black Powder Bourbon Infused Coffee
The bourbon-infused blends from Black Powder Coffee use coffee from the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica, which is known for its fragrant beans (per Espresso & Coffee Guide). The beans are infused with Kentucky Straight Bourbon while still green and roasted slowly for a delicate cup filled with complex flavor. Because Black Powder roasts in small batches, their bourbon roast is something of a limited-edition bean. In past roastings, this roaster has collaborated with Southern Distilling Company to produce a coffee using Southern Star Bourbon. The unique vat processing for Southern Star provides a stronger flavor for the bourbon.
In a bourbon-soaked coincidence, there is actually a straight bourbon called Black Powder, which would seem a natural fit for a bourbon-infused coffee with the same name. Whether a partnership looms in the future is unknown, but it's something for coffee drinkers eager to try Black Powder's intriguing coffee to note when searching online for outlets that carry Black Powder beans, not Black Powder bottles.
6. Fire Dept. Bourbon Infused Coffee
This first responder-owned and operated coffee manufacturer provides a collection of spirit-infused coffees, with bourbon beans featured at the top of the list. Their proprietary infusion process removes the alcohol during roasting, leaving behind only the rich, complex flavors of the spirit and the bean. The end product is a coffee where the complementary elements of both bourbon and coffee create flavor and aroma with a wholly unique character when brewed. With a Fire Department's original bourbon infused coffee is a medium roast that enjoys a whopping 4.9-star average (based on over 500 reviews) on the company's website. A particularly thoughtful write-up notes the "a smooth vanilla latte taste enrobed in a deep roast that gave a silky dark chocolate note."
For fans of a sweeter coffee experience, the company offers a Black Cherry Bourbon version with fruitful notes joining the bourbon-coffee blend. The Bourbon Banter blog describes the flavor profile in great detail and gives a glowing review. There's also a Vanilla Bean Bourbon version that introduces a creamy vanilla essence into the mix.
5. Jim Beam Original Bourbon Flavored Ground Coffee
It's bound to be a game-changing event when a spirit powerhouse like Jim Beam comes onto the coffee scene. A partnership with White Coffee in 2017 brought the world's premier bourbon into the coffee business for this flavorful collaboration. The flagship Jim Beam Original Bourbon flavor is a medium roast with the signature Jim Beam essence added to 100% Arabica beans for flavorful cup that highlights creamy caramel and vanilla layers.
The inspired blend has been a success with consumers. Meadow Ridge Coffee breaks down the Jim Beam bourbon coffee experience on their blog, pointing out the coffee's " ... quality rich flavor under the bourbon flavoring." An Amazon reviewer raved, "I don't usually drink black coffee but this has so much flavor I didn't even bother with cream and sugar." For a more extensive flavor experience, the Jim Beam Bourbon collection also includes Dark Roast, Spiced Honey, Cinnamon Stick, and Vanilla.
4. Regent Coffee Bourbon Barrel Aged Coffee
In addition to selling their brew in bean and ground form, Regent Coffee throws a twist in the bourbon-flavored coffee game with a cold brew served up in a glass flask. Like the others on the list, this brew is non-alcoholic, though the packaging might say otherwise! Regent uses various single-origin beans from around the world to produce their coffee, aging them in hand-seasoned Kentucky bourbon barrels and closely monitoring the progress. The resulting beans are ground, brewed in cold water, and triple filtered for extra smoothness.
A post at Coffee Review describes the taste of Regent's cold brew as "A bright, berry- and floral-driven Kenya cold brew, gently evocative of the Bourbon barrel in which the green coffee was aged." The Ethiopia variant was also highly rated, complimented as "a very pretty sipper." Having the cold brew corner of the bourbon-flavored coffee market corner turns out to be a very good thing.
3. Cooper's Cask Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Coffee
Cooper's Cask prides itself on not simply flavoring its coffees, a term that can confuse consumers. As co-owner John Speights explains it, "Flavored coffee is the process of adding a flavored syrup to the beans after it has been roasted to take on the predominate flavor." These artificial flavorings aim to replicate the flavor of bourbon, but don't impart the authentic bourbon body that barrel aging does. It's an important distinction for true coffee crafters to make.
For its Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Coffee, Cooper's Cask calls out tasting notes of cocoa and dark fruits in addition to the bourbon. This roaster breaks from the other bourbon coffee makers by using Colombian beans to create a medium-dark roast in small batches. Small-batch barrel aging and roasting allows better control of the flavor profile, which adds to the artisan romance of these beans and grounds. What ends up in the bag is a playful mix of coffee and spirits that a reviewer at Best Quality Coffee complimented by calling it "Robust enough to make me reach for it on a regular basis, but smooth enough to have that third cup." Not a bad way to start the morning.
2. Oak & Bond Bourbon Barrel Aged Coffee
A coffee company that takes its name from bourbon barrel terminology clearly takes its infused coffee seriously. Oak & Bond has even styled its package to resemble a classic whiskey label for an unmistakable nod to their craft. A Brazilian Single Origin, barrel-aged brew imparts notes of mandarin orange and caramel against sweet Kentucky bourbon and a medium roast bean. Not content with just one version, Oak & Bond also offer a bourbon-infused espresso with black cherry and toffee notes for more complex drinking experience.
A guest coffee reviewer at the Bourbon Sippers blog gives helpful insight into the success of Oak & Bond, praising the choice of beans by stating, "If I were to choose a coffee that would age well in bourbon barrels, it would be a pulped-natural Brazilian coffee." So much thought applied to the infusing and roasting processes makes this company one of the more authentic outfits when it comes to craftsmanship.
1. Clout Barrel Aged Bourbon Whiskey Coffee
Clout entered the barrel-aged coffee game as an exclusively small-batch aged bourbon roaster before expanding to other spirits. The bourbon brew remains the keystone in the company's operation. The coffee is even used as a chief ingredient in caramels as an added spirit-flavored delicacy sold in the company shop, which makes sense considering the tasting notes of vanilla and dark chocolate described on the website listing. Dark roast is available in K-cups for single serve brewing. A line of infused grounds include light, dark, and espresso roasts to please a variety of palates, while whole beans come in a clever bourbon bottle gift set to round out the distillery theme.
Having mastered the finer points of barrel aging, Clout has captivated their customers with careful flavor that delivers on a variety of fronts. "The bourbon notes truly come out in both the aroma and the coffee flavor," says one reviewer on the company website, "but without any harsh, boozy taste."