As an appreciator of fine coffee and good whiskey, I would have loved to attend the Bushmills X Nord Coast masterclass in Hamburg on October 26. Unfortunately, I could not make it there for personal reasons. Since the event sounded like a ton of fun – and happend to be co-hosted by my pal Gearoid “The Whisky Jack” O’Callaghan – I want to feature it on my blog nonetheless. So here is a brief summary of the official press release, plus a couple of photos to capture the mood.

After being welcomed to the Nord Coast premises in the harbor city of Hamburg, the guests took part in a diversified program centering around the topics “whiskey” and “coffee”. In accordance with the motto “Be your own crafter”, they took part in varying activities, such as a live roasting of coffee beans and a tasting of four Bushmills expressions (the last of which was the glorious 21 Years Old). Also, they were treated to an Iced Irish Coffee, the recipe of which Gearoid prepared especially for this event. According to Gearoid, sipping this traditional beverage from the Emerald Isle cold rather than hot puts extra emphasis on the whiskey notes. If you want to give this a try, just follow the instruction below.

by Tobi

Iced Irish Coffee by Gearoid O'Callaghan

Ingredients:
4cl Bushmills Black Bush Irish Whiskey
14cl Cold brew slushy*
2 cl Porter syrup**
Cream

Glas: 
Tumbler (230ml)

Garnish: 
Cinnamon

Preparation: 
Fill half a tumbler with semi-frozen cold brew. Carefully stir in the whiskey and the syrup. Lightly whip the cream and add it to the drink. Put some grated cinnamon on top... and then: Enjoy!

*Cold brew slushy

Ingredients:
45g of freshly ground coffee (semi-coarse)
50cl cold water

Preparation:
Fill the water and the ground coffee into a glass vat. Stir it well, cover it and put it into the fridge for 12 hours. Then, take out the solids with a regular coffee filter. If possible, keep the filtered cold brew in the fridge for a full week. When the time has come to prepare your Iced Irish Coffee, fill the filtered cold brew into a shallow cake tin or gratin dish. Put it into the freezer for 2 to 3 hours and stir it every 30 minutes to loosen the icesheet on top. After 3 hours, you will have reached the desired slushy consistency.

*Porter syrup

Ingredients:
33cl Dark porter (e.g. Guinness)
330g Brown sugar
2.5cm Chopped ginger
1/2 Orange zest
1 Pinch of salt

Preparation:
Put all ingredients into a pot and make them boil. Let it simmer for 30 minutes. Take it off the hotplate and let it rest for 5 minutes. Pour it through a fine sieve and fill it into a sterile glass bottle. If possible, leave it in the fridge for 2 weeks or longer before you use it.

Bushmills @ Web: https://bushmills.com/ (Distillery)
Nord Coast @ Web: https://www.nordcoast-coffee.de/ (Roastery)
The Whisky Jack @ Web: https://thewhiskyjack.com/ (Co-host)
MuthKomm @ Web: https://muthkomm.de/ (PR agency)
Eric Anders @ Web: http://www.ericanders.de/ (Photographer)

*** Photo copyright by Bushmills / Eric Anders Photography ***