Shaft Drink
The shaft drink is a fun Canadian cocktail made with vodka, coffee liqueur, Irish cream and espresso (or cold brew coffee). It’s sweet, creamy and sure to give you the pick-me-up you need for your night out.
Why we love this shaft drink
We accidentally discovered this cocktail while we were visiting family in British Columbia. I picked up a pack of pre-made shaft cocktails to bring on our camping trip.
They honestly weren’t great, but I soon discovered that the cocktail is well known in the Victoria area and it’s even better when it’s freshly made with Irish cream and fresh brewed espresso.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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Equipment
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- Vodka – The shaft drink is usually made with plain-old vodka, but I recently got a bottle of chocolate vodka at a local distillery and it works really well in this drink. Really any flavor that you would put in your coffee will work in this drink.
- Coffee liqueur
- Irish cream
- Espresso – If you don’t have the ability to brew fresh espresso, you can substitute cold brew, but the fresh espresso creates a really nice texture in the drink.
How to make a shaft drink
Brew the espresso. If you’re brewing your own espresso, make sure you do this ahead of time. You don’t want it to be hot when you add it to the drink. Give it some time to come to room temperature.
Mix the drink. Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake until cold. You could also add the ingredients to your glass with ice and just stir until cold, but I like the frothy texture you get when shaking it.
Garnish and serve. Strain your cocktail into a glass filled with ice. There’s not wrong glassware for this time of cocktail, but it’s usually served in a lowball or highball glass.
Typically shaft cocktails aren’t garnished with anything. But I like to pull from an espresso martini and garnish with some coffee beans.
Everything you need to know the shaft cocktail
The shaft cocktail originated in Calgary, Alberta, but it’s become very popular on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, which is where I first tried the drink.
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Shaft Drink
The shaft drink is a fun Canadian cocktail made with vodka, coffee liqueur, Irish cream and espresso (or cold brew coffee). It’s sweet, creamy and sure to give you the pick-me-up you need for your night out.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Vodka
- Method: Shaken
- Cuisine: Canadian
Ingredients
- 1 ounce vodka
- 1 ounce coffee liqueur
- 1 ounce Irish cream
- 2 ounces chilled espresso
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add drink ingredients. Shake until cold.
- Strain into a cocktail glass filled with ice.
- Garnish with coffee beans before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 284
- Sugar: 19.5 g
- Sodium: 32.8 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.8 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 18 mg
Keywords: shaft cocktail, the shaft cocktail, the shaft drink, shaft coffee drink, calgary cocktails, coffee drink alcohol, mixed drinks with coffee
Last Updated on April 17, 2023 by Melissa Belanger
This post contains affiliate links. I may earn commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. I will never recommend a product I don’t use or trust.
