The Hue-Hue-Tini
Chocolatey, Bold, and Smooth
The 80's were a pretty grim time for cocktail culture. This decade soft rocked itself into creating some pretty horrendous cocktails made with mass manufactured mixes and Tom Cruise style tin flips. But it wasn't all bad. Some true gems came out of that bar scene; chief among them, the Espresso Martini. The origin story of this drink involves a supermodel, weird sexual innuendos, and vodka (sounds like the 80's). But like all great things born in the 80s, it grew up, got a better haircut, and refined itself into something truly remarkable. The Hue-Hue-Tini is our way of paying respect to the padded shoulder days, with a refreshed focus on the true star of the show: coffee.
To understand a drink like the Hue-Hue-Tini, it's important to first learn a bit about coffee. Up until the mid 90's, coffee was treated by most as a non-perishable pantry item. You'd buy it when you needed it, and hang onto it until the tin was empty. The coffee "beans" were roasted incredibly dark until the only flavor left was something similar to burnt oily toast. A shot of espresso in the 80's was likely a concentrated cup of bitter char and coffee oils. Not exactly the most appetizing thing to add to a cocktail...and pretty apparent why they covered this flavor with an overly sweet coffee liqueur.
Fast forward some 30 years, we find ourselves in a completely unrecognizable culture of coffee aficionados. It's now possible to find excellent fresh coffee in nearly every corner of the US. Here in Portland, there's a craft coffeehouse sourcing and roasting the best coffees in the world practically every 3 blocks. We sought out the best coffee to compliment the taste profile of our signature silver rum used in our Hue-Hue Coffee Rum. The true rich flavor of light roasted coffee shines through without the need to cover up imperfections with a ton of sugar and artificial flavors–like most coffee liqueurs on the market.
The Hue-Hue-Tini takes the bright & bold qualities in Hue-Hue and builds upon them with vodka, bottled cold brew, and a small amount of 2:1 simple syrup. Lemon oil expressed over the top is a delightful addition that brightens up the nose of this cocktail and allows the chocolatey notes to shine through. Simply put, it's the perfect cocktail to enjoy after a delicious dinner or to get your weekend started at brunch.
Here's how to make a Hue-Hue-Tini.
Ingredients:
1.5 ounces Hue-Hue Coffee Rum
1 ounce Portland Potato Vodka
1 ounce cold brew coffee
.5 ounce 2:1 simple syrup
lemon peel or twist
Before you start building this cocktail, chill a coupe glass with a couple ice cubes or by sticking in the freezer for 10 minutes. To build, add Hue-Hue, vodka, simple syrup, and cold brew to a shaker with a large scoop of ice. Shake ingredients hard for 20-25 seconds. Strain into your chilled coupe glass, and squeeze the lemon peel over the glass to express the lemon oil into the cocktail. Serve immediately and enjoy!