Who else is loving the new Starbucks iced brown sugar oat milk espresso drink?! Being a huge fan of oat milk (and cutting out dairy from my weekday diet), I wondered how much longer Starbucks was going to wait to get on the oat milk train. Coffee Bean, Peet's Coffee, and so many smaller coffee shops were already carrying it, why wasn't Starbucks yet?
Then, in true Starbucks fashion, they announced this fantastically awesome pairing as their new spring espresso drink, and after trying it, I was inspired to make some boozy coffee concoctions!
First, you've got to make your brown sugar simple syrup - and if you've never made your own simple syrup before, you will be amazed at how easy it is!
All you have to do is take equal parts sugar and hot water, mix until the sugar dissolves...and boom. You've got simple syrup.
For this particular batch, I added one cup of Trader Joe's organic brown sugar into my bar mixing glass, poured one cup of boiling hot water over it, stirred until the sugar dissolved, then added 1/2 a Tablespoon of Trader Joe's Bourbon Vanilla extract.
I got this cute little jar at Michael's for about $3.99, and since I didn't have a funnel, my bar mixing glass had the perfect spout to pour the syrup into this jar without spilling. Do be careful though if you use a glass container like me to mix the sugar & water - the glass will be hot when you pour the boiling water into it, so be sure not to touch the bottom part of the glass where the water is. There are also plenty of recipes that say to boil the water on the stove and add your sugar to the pot, both methods work fine, just do whatever works best for you! As long as you store your syrup in an air tight container in the fridge, it should last up to a week (some sites say up to two weeks, but I never like to keep any homemade syrups in my fridge for longer than a week). This syrup is also delicious in non-alcoholic beverages as well, and can be added to hot teas or your morning cup of coffee!
Next, the brand of oat milk that you use will definitely affect how these cocktails taste! Since I am swapping out Bailey's for oat milk, I use Silk's Oat Yeah Vanilla Creamer. It is truly the only oat milk creamer that has a consistency like actual cream, and since Bailey's is so thick and creamy, this is the only replacement in my opinion that works well. If you want to be dairy free and can't find this creamer, Bailey's has an almond milk version that will taste great with the following cocktails, too. However, just note that if you use oat milk, instead of oat milk creamer, and you use another version of oat milk creamer besides this one, your cocktails' consistency will be watery. Click HERE then click the "Where to Buy" icon to see where you can buy it near you! (I am usually able to find it at Sprouts and two Targets in the area; it sells out fast, so I love that I can hop onto Instacart and see if it's in stock before I head to the store). Silk also has an Oatmeal Cookie flavored oat milk creamer, and that would probably taste fantastic in these cocktails, too!
Now, onto the cocktails!
Brown Sugar & Oat Milk White Russian
Ingredients:
- 2oz of Vodka
- 1oz of Kahlua
- 0.75oz of Brown Sugar Syrup
- Vanilla Oat Milk Creamer
Instructions:
Add first three ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake! Then strain into a highball glass full of ice. Top with your oat milk creamer and watch it swirl around! Enjoy!
**If you don't have oat milk creamer, this can of course be substituted for any other cream or milk, just note that consistency of your creamer will affect the consistency of this drink. White Russians are traditionally made with heavy cream or half & half.
Brown Sugar & Oat Milk Espresso Martini
Ingredients:
- 1.0oz of Vodka
- 1.5oz of freshly brewed Espresso
- 0.75oz of Kahlua
- 0.75oz of Brown Sugar Syrup
- 1oz of Vanilla Oat Milk Creamer
Instructions:
Add all ingredients into your shaker with ice and shake! Pour into a frosted martini glass, then garnish with three espresso beans.
**You can substitute the creamer for 1oz of Bailey's. For a sweeter cocktail, nix the vodka, do a double shot of espresso, and add 0.5oz of Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur.
Brown Sugar & Oat Milk Irish Coffee
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of Coffee, 2/3 full
- 1.5oz of Irish Whiskey
- 1oz of Vanilla Oat Milk Creamer
- 0.75oz of Brown Sugar Syrup
- Whipped Cream & Brown Sugar (opt)
Add your favorite Irish whiskey, creamer and syrup to your coffee (hot or iced), then give it a stir. Then top with whipped cream and sprinkle some extra brown sugar!
**Creamer can be substituted for 1oz of Bailey's.
**Some popular Irish whiskeys to try: Jameson (I use the Jameson Caskmates Stout), Bushmills, Tullamore Dew, and for those who hate the taste of whiskey, I recommend Teeling: so smooth, almost no bite for a whiskey.
Like always, these are ratios that are to my liking, but can always be adjusted based on the bartender! If you prefer your drinks less strong, go easy on the spirits and heavy on the other ingredients, and if you like your drinks less sweet, then add more spirits and less of the sweet stuff.
I hope you enjoy these recipes, and let me know in the comments if you try them! I'd love to hear what you think!
And last but not least, thanks to Starbucks for the inspiration, and to Silk for making such an awesome product (please please please don't ever discontinue the oat milk creamers! They're the best!!).
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