Keoke Coffee

Keoke (pronounced Key-oh-key) Coffee hails from, of all places, Southern California, at a place called Bully's Steakhouse. One night after the restaurant closed, the staff was fiddling with new drink recipe ideas. The owner, George Bullington, put together a blend of coffee, brandy, crème de cacao and Kahlúa, and gave it a cap of lightly whipped cream. The staff loved it. The drink started out simply known as George's Coffee. Then, a cook, who was from Hawaii, started calling it Keoke Coffee, using the Hawaiian version of George, "keoke." The name stuck, and the drink is one of the most popular coffee cocktails to this day.

As with Irish coffee, there's a bunch of small details that come together to make the difference between a decent Keoke Coffee and a great one. First, make sure the coffee is piping hot, and pre-heat your mug with very hot water before you make your drink. Otherwise the liquors and whipped cream will cool the drink down too much.

This cozy coffee drink makes a nice substitute for dessert after a big meal. A chocoloate covered coffee bean or cacao bean would make a nice garnish.

1/2 oz Kahlua
1/2 oz Creme de Cacao
1/2 oz Brandy
4 oz fresh, piping hot coffee
Whipped cream

Pour the liquors in a large warm mug. Fill with coffee and top with whipped cream. Serve with spoons.