6:45 pm...  that awkward time of night when you are sooooo tired;  you'd really like a cup hot, strong, black coffee but you aren't sure if you should give in or just hold out and go to bed early tonight.

Review: New England Original Cooper's Cask Coffee - Rye Whiskey, Malt Whiskey, Rum... COFFEE

My husband received a coffee theme gift for his birthday this week - which I was happy to see, as that meant I got to enjoy it as well!  The gift was a 3 pack of cask coffee from Cooper's Cask Coffee in Rhode Island.  Since this post is not sponsored in any way, I can say whatever I want about their coffee - and guess what?  I loved it.  So did my husband.

Now, I'm not normally a fan of flavored coffee (and if you are a regular reader, you know this).  I like my coffee strong, hot and black.  Currently I'm on a long running Sumatra kick - brewed in k-cups at 6 oz.  Sometimes at 4 ounce.  Yes, I like my coffee strong.

In the Gift Box you get 3 - 4 oz. bags (we received whole bean which I'm thrilled about, I'll tell you why below).

For the product description and tasting notes I'm going to take it straight from their site as they describe it far better than I could....


UPRISING STOUT WHISKEY BARREL AGED COFFEE

• Barrel Aged: Uprising (Son’s of Liberty Whiskey): Stout style American whiskey
• Coffee Beans: Sumatra Lintong
• Tasting Notes:  Woody Earth, tobacco, tropical fruits, vanilla, caramel
• The Sumatra coffee bean is from the sub-region of Lintong and was chosen because of the complementary tasting notes of woody earth and mild sweet tobacco, with a hint of ripe tropical fruits.  When aged in whiskey barrels, the flavor and aroma of the bean is enhanced with the sweetness of vanilla and caramel from the whiskey.  When tasted, you get the enriched coffee experience with a very long whiskey finish.  Excellent as an espresso.

BATTLE CRY RYE WHISKEY BARREL AGED COFFEE

• Barrel Aged: Battle Cry (Son’s of Liberty Whiskey) Rye American whiskey
• Coffee Beans: Ethiopian Dry Processed
• Tasting Notes:  Bright and clean cup with a slight acidic spice, fruited notes of peach jam and strawberries, touch of sweetness of red raw honey and dutch chocolate
• This coffee uses the dry process by means of drying out the cherries under the sun on raised beds instead of the traditional wet processed (cherries stripped off after picking).  The dry process intensifies the flavor of the cherry directly into the coffee bean. The flavor profile has a very bright and clean cup with accents of peaches, strawberries, raw red honey, and a touch of dutch chocolate. The Battle Cry whiskey is distilled from a Belgium yeast style beer with grains of malted rye and honey malt.  The whiskey complements the coffee with bright spicy flavors and an intense floral nose that is slightly sweet.  Enjoy the intense aromas and the complex flavors of this barrel aged coffee!

THOMAS TEW RUM BARREL AGED COFFEE

• Barrel Aged: Thomas Tew Rum Barrel from Newport, RI
• Coffee Beans:  Rwanda Single Origin
• Tasting Notes:  Caramelized sugar, red raisins, molasses, rich cocoa, baking spices, vanilla and oak
• The perfect pairing of the natural dark toffee and molasses of the coffee with the caramel sweetness and slight spiciness of the rum.  You will find this coffee to be incredibly smooth.  The aroma after a fresh grind gives way to an amazing caramelized sugar and all-spice with a hint of golden raisins.  The flavors in the brewed cup continues but deepens into a rich cocoa complexity with notes of spice, vanilla, and oak come into play.  An espresso shot intensifies the sweet toffee and spice with a rich cocoa and oak structure.

Looking at just these three (they do sell more flavors and styles but I can't personally speak to those as I haven't tried them), I chose the Single Malt Whiskey Barrel.  

The roast is medium dark, and the taste is more woody, tobacco than heavy on the fruit - which I am NOT a fan of 'sweet' so from the description and smell, I chose this one.  It was only after I brewed my first cup that I looked at the bag more closely and saw it was made with SUMATRA ISLAND origin beans.  No wonder I liked it! My favorite beans were used as well.

One of the reasons I hate flavored coffee in general is the flavoring is fake, chemically tasting and usually 'off'.  This had none of that.  These coffee beans start with a quality bean, and are aged in whiskey barrels.  This gives them a better flavor than other companies just dousing the beans with some flavored oils.

We received whole beans - and I'm thankful for that.  To get the best flavor, you need to freshly grind your beans right before brewing.  Pre-ground coffee has already started to lose some of that burst of aroma, flavor and magic.  I ground the beans, used a Reusable K Cups For Keurig  for my single cup k-cup style brewer (not a Keurig but a similar brand no longer made called iCoffee.

I brewed the first cup at 6 ounces.  It was... very good.  The flavor of the whiskey was not a fake chemical flavor. It was more of a strong hint but let the coffee shine through.  This was a huge positive in my book.  Also, I don't eat sugar and haven't for years so things are overly sweet to me and I can taste sweetness in foods and beverages that is sometimes overwhelming to me although the average person can't taste it as they are acclimated to sugar.  This coffee was just 'almost' too sweet to me (yes I drink it black, no sweeteners added).  But the average person probably will not taste the sweetness.

My husband brewed a 6 ounce size first (he's come over to the 'dark side' of coffee with me in the last year or two!  Yay!) and then he brewed it at 4 ounces to see if the flavor strength would change.  It was a stronger coffee, yes, but the flavor/hint of the whiskey stayed true.

I give a THUMBS UP to the Single Malt Whiskey blend by Cooper's.  Absolutely, without hesitation... I even posted it on my personal Snapchat to let others know it was worth trying.  However I know I will NOT be trying the Rum version.  I personally don't like the flavor or smell of rum.  It's too sweet for me, I don't like the actual taste of alcohol and even the smell of rum is enough to turn my stomach so... no.  I may try the other whiskey in the set, however by aroma alone, it smells a little lighter and more sweet and fruity than the single malt.  Since I don't like sweet or fruity, I think I'll stick to the single malt whiskey version and leave the other two bags for my husband.

It was his birthday gift after all.....   ha.







Related products available through Amazon....

  Whiskey & Rum Barrel Aged Coffee Whole Bean Box Set, 3 Bags Gift Box Set, Coffee Sampler Set - Single Origin Sumatra Whiskey, Ethiopian Rye, Rwanda Rum Roasted Coffee Beans, 12oz Total


   Wine Barrel Aged Whole Coffee Bean Box Set, Sample Gift Set - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Aged Coffee, 3x 4oz Bags Box Set, 100% Guaranteed


  Bourbon Barrel Aged K-cups Coffee, 12 ct Bourbon K-cup Box Set - Grade 1 Single Origin Colombian Coffee Aged Bourbon Barrels, 12count

Edmund Burke did not say "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing"

Edmund Burke (12 January 1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Irish political philosopher, Whig politician and statesman who is often regarded as the father of modern conservatism. 

He is often quoted as saying: 

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

But my interest in the history of this quote showed me tonight that it looks as though he has been misquoted.  And there is no direct link between this quote and him, although there is a link to someone else.

This purported quote bears a resemblance to the narrated theme of Sergei Bondarchuk's Soviet film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, produced in 1966. In it the narrator declares "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing", although since the original is in Russian various translations to English are possible.

Nevertheless, reading about Edmund Burke this evening as I sipped my coffee (well, admittedly it was 4 oz. of espresso over a cup of homemade vanilla ice cream; but it was coffee!) got me interested in a few of his quotes that are verified to be from his writings and/or speeches. 

Here are three you can ponder over coffee.  The first one had a specific line that rings true to our media, celebrities and the Democratic party.  Their hatred and bullying is to sacrifice their enemies (those who are more conservative in politics as well as our current President) however they forget their own future safety in their desire to sacrifice those who believe differently than they do.

 _________________________

Liberty, if I understand it at all, is a general principle, and the clear right of all the subjects within the realm, or of none. Partial freedom seems to me a most invidious mode of slavery. But, unfortunately, it is the kind of slavery the most easily admitted in times of civil discord; for parties are but too apt to forget their own future safety in their desire of sacrificing their enemies. People without much difficulty admit the entrance of that injustice of which they are not to be the immediate victims. In times of high proceeding it is never the faction of the predominant power that is in danger: for no tyranny chastises its own instruments.



Young man, there is America — which at this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners; yet shall, before you taste of death, show itself equal to the whole of that commerce which now attracts the envy of the world.


It is the love of the people; it is their attachment to their government, from the sense of the deep stake they have in such a glorious institution, which gives you both your army and your navy, and infuses into both that liberal obedience, without which your army would be a base rabble, and your navy nothing but rotten timber.