Salted Caramel Bourbon Coffee Cocktail 3.12 Lorelai out of Water

“You know, this is pretty much what I thought heaven would look like. There might have been a unicorn in the corner, but basically – yeah, this is it. Um, so I’ve had fifteen of these tiny coffees.” “Yes, you have.” “And you’re telling me that all this tasting is completely free?” “Yes.”

“So I’m a cheap date.” “Well, the tasting is free, but I have to promise to stock my coffee chain from this warehouse, so actually this date is costing me about eleven thousand dollars a month.” “Jeez, I hope I’m worth it.”

Ingredients:

• Caramel sauce

• Ice

• 1.5 oz salted caramel cream liqueur

• 1.0 oz bourbon

• .5 oz heavy cream

• 1.5 oz freshly brewed coffee (I used Scotty P’s Big Mug Coffee in the Flavor Caramel Swirl)

• Whipped cream

• Sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

1. Rim a glass with caramel sauce. You can make homemade or use store-bought. The best way to rim a glass is by placing about a tablespoon of caramel sauce on a small plate then gently press the rim of the glass into the sauce, turning the glass to make sure the entire rim is coated. You can add gold sprinkles to the rim if you'd like. I used gold sprinkles for mine.

2. Fill the glass about halfway with ice cubes.

3. In a cocktail shaker filled with more ice, add the salted caramel cream liqueur, bourbon, and heavy cream. If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, you can skip this step and pour all the ingredients into your prepared glass and stir with a spoon or straw.

4. Give the cocktail shaker a good shake until the outside has frosted. Pour the drink into the prepared glass.

5. Add the freshly brewed Scotty P coffee to the top of your drink. Stir to combine the coffee with a spoon or straw.

6. Top with as much whipped cream as you desire, more caramel sauce, and sprinkles if you’d like (I used gold and white pearls).

I like how the gold sprinkles compliments the caramel sauce so well.

So oddly enough, this episode doesn’t give us much in the way of food. And it’s not even like in past episodes like Cinnamon’s Wake or Richard in Stars Hollow where there was some food that’s mentioned, but I just didn’t want to make any of it. There really isn’t any mention of food in this episode. So I decided to do whatever I wanted! I almost made fish since this is Lorelai’s big fishing episode, but since she decided to keep the fish she caught and not eat it, I couldn’t do that to poor Jane. In this episode, Lorelai goes on a first date with Alex, who we met in the last episode. On this date, they go to a coffee tasting so that Alex can pick out which coffee they will sell at the place he’s opening up with Joe (likely to be named The Mudhouse).

Anyone getting Dean vibes from the bourbon I used? ;)

Because Joe used to work with Sookie, I think it’s safe to say that they won’t just be selling traditional coffee drinks at The Mudhouse. Coffee cocktails are definitely in the realm of possibilities, so that’s how I decided what I was going to make for this episode. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I have played around with mixology during the pandemic because I wasn’t going to bars. I first made a version of this drink for my sister’s birthday back in January. In a funny circular way, that first drink was actually inspired by a different episode of Gilmore Girls. If you’re a fan of the show, then you’ll know that for Rory’s 21st birthday in season 6, there is a signature cocktail called the Rory that’s served at her party at Richard and Emily’s. We learn what’s in the drink (and that it’s very pink), but we don’t really learn why that drink is named after Rory other than it’s her birthday and she’s a girl and allegedly, girls love pink. But for my sister’s signature birthday cocktail, I wanted there to be a reason for each ingredient.

I found this at my local Total Wine. You can use any brand you can find.

The bourbon was for her southern roots since she was born and raised in Texas. The salted caramel liqueur was selected because though she’s a salty bitch, she’s sweet. I chose cream because she’s the cream of the crop in my life, and the coffee is because she’s essential to me (as is coffee). In the original drink, I had added a chocolate drizzle because in a year that when it rained, it poured, she was the best part. In this version, I didn’t add chocolate because I really wanted to amp up the caramel flavor.

I doubled the portions for these photos, but you'll want to use a smaller glass if you replicate exactly.

In this episode, there is also not a lot that happens. As I mentioned in the last episode, we’re in a stretch of lackluster episodes in my opinion. Overall, I enjoy season three, but I think there is a point in the middle of the season where the episodes just aren’t that interesting. Rory and Jess are technically together, but nothing really happens with their relationship until Swan Song. We do get some insight into how Lane feels about their relationship in this episode, which is that she doesn’t like Jess. I’ve talked about how Lane and Rory’s friendship doesn’t feel that strong before, but even still, Lane is supposed to be Rory’s best friend. I think she should take Lane’s thoughts on Jess into consideration. If your best friend has concerns about the man you’re dating, you should at least take pause and reflect on your relationship.

Obviously, the main plot of this episode is Lorelai telling Alex that she enjoys the outdoors and agrees to go fishing with him. While I think Lorelai is too old to be lying to the person she’s dating about her interests, I like how Alex can see right through her and knows this isn’t true. As I mentioned in my last post, this is why I think Alex could be a good match for Lorelai. He’s only known her for a short amount of time, but he already gets her. He books lunch for her at a nearby Lodge and Spa for Lorelai because he knows she’s not much of a fisher.

The sprinkles are completely optional, but I think they add a fun element to the cocktail.

We get a cute scene in which Luke sets up a kiddie pool in Lorelai’s front yard in an attempt to teach her how to fish. She gets excited over getting to wear a cute outfit, but I have to ask, is this actually a cute outfit? Lauren Graham can pull off just about anything, but I don’t think this would be a cute outfit if anyone else wore it. What do you think about Lorelai’s fishing outfit? Is it cute?

Happy Cooking from the Hollow

The Caramel Swirl flavor of Scotty P's Big Mug Coffee was the perfect addition for this caramel coffee cocktail

If you missed what I made last episode, catch up here!