Spiked Cold Brew Delivers Wine's ABV With Coffee's Buzz
Who among us has not said to themselves, "Wow, I'd like this coffee a lot more if it were also wine," or perhaps "Wow, I'd like this wine a lot more if it were also coffee?" No? Anybody? Bueller?
Well, it's a thought shared by the people at Cafe Agave, who've created a canned cold brew coffee cocktail that gets its booze from wine. According to a press release from the company, that makes it unique in the booze-but-also-coffee space—the few others spiked or hard coffees use spirits or malt to achieve that ABV. It also means that, unlike other such beverages, you'll find it at retailers who sell beer and wine, and not merely in stores that carry liquor. And it also means that the alcohol-by-volume for the brand is no joke—like a very boozy beer (or, you know, a glass of wine), it clocks in at 12.5 percent A.B.V.
Like canned wine, it's the kind of thing you'll want to drink with caution. Each can is about six ounces, or a little more than a standard pour of wine. Cafe Agave describes the flavors as "coffee-forward," despite their sweet-sounding names—Espresso Shot, Caffe Mocha, Salted Caramel, and Vanilla Cinnamon—so the likelihood of one slurping down a few too many cans of the stuff probably depends on how likely you are to gulp cold brew.
Another reason to proceed with caution: It's also caffeinated. Here, however, the brand has taken its foot off the gas a bit, as each can contains as much caffeine as around half a cup of coffee. It's made with Arabica Columbian coffee, which is brewed for 12 hours; three flavors (excepting the espresso shot) are made with real cream, and all are sweetened with agave.
To be honest, this is the kind of thing for which I am entirely Too Old. I'm all about the occasional breakfast drink, but I'll just go with an Irish coffee, coffee and Bailey's, or a normal cup of coffee and a Bloody Mary side-by-side. If I have that much caffeine after 6 p.m. I'm never going to sleep again for the rest of my life. But based on the press release, I'm not the target audience. As co-founder Ami-Lynn Bakshi put it in a statement:
It's about a lifestyle. We are all constantly on the go, non-stop, 24/7. We talked a lot about how we always start the night out with a cup of coffee... From pool parties to roof top lounges, concert venues to music festivals, casinos to hotel minibars, the convenience of our super-premium real coffee cocktails will give entertainment seekers more variety over the usual beer and wine choices.
Just reading that makes me tired.