Corrected Coffee - how to pair alcohol and coffee

Corrected coffee is a delicious beverage that is typically Italian: it is in our country that the habit of "correcting" coffee by adding a bit of liquor originated. It seems that originally it was the workers of Northern Italy who, during their breaks, used to add a drop of grappa to their coffee to find a bit of warmth and refreshment from the harsh temperatures.

It didn't take long for this habit to spread throughout the peninsula, differentiating region by region depending on the type of liquor used according to local customs and traditions.

Corrected Coffee – recipe and tips

The basic recipe for corrected coffee typical of the Northern areas of Italy is very simple and consists of adding no more than 5 ml of grappa to a good long or short coffee. For a perfect result, it would be preferable to let the coffee cool first – in order to preserve the alcohol content of the "correction" – and then correct it without adding sugar. Or, if you really don't like bitter coffee, sweeten it while it's still hot and then let it cool before adding the liquor.

Moving to the South, particularly in Salento, there's a custom of correcting coffee with anise; it's so widespread that in some towns it's possible to find a bottle of anise on the bar counters available to customers, who can use it to modify their coffee as they wish.

But there are countless ways to correct coffee.

If you have a gentle palate and love creamy textures, add a few drops of cream whiskey to your coffee: it will surprise you. Or a dash of brandy, which will break the bitterness of the coffee releasing sweetness and unique aromas.

If you are more oriented towards strong flavors, correct the coffee with a bit of dry whiskey or a dash of rum.

For traditionalists, coffee corrected with sambuca – or a shot of sambuca with "the fly", that is the liquor with a few whole coffee beans – will do the trick. It's a now-established combination capable of pleasing everyone.

A few drops of alcohol in coffee can make your break special and refreshing. And as a digestive, it can help improve digestion. But be careful to choose the right liquor: it shouldn't be excessively fruity or too bitter, characteristics that could interfere making the experience of corrected coffee less enjoyable.

In general, alcohol in many cases enhances the strong notes of coffee making its flavor even more intense and enveloping. And Dersut knows this well, as in its Dercaffè liquor it has encapsulated a perfect synthesis of this combination, making some of its best coffee blends alcoholic. And you, with what do you prefer to correct your coffee?