HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE MATCHA COCKTAIL

And we’re back! In my mind, I imagined Jeremey Clarkson in old new Top Gear saying that after a long absence. Alice and I took a slight sabbatical after having our first child! Hooray for kids! Fun fact, nothing makes you appreciate a cocktail at the end of the night like a finally asleep child. True story. With that in mind, let’s return to the goodness with the Hazelnut Chocolate Matcha Cocktail!

This one has it all, nutty goodness, chocolate richness and that earthy I-feel-like-I’m-doing-something-good-for-myself-but-am-still-having-a-cocktail-ness tastiness of matcha.

As I’m still not a big coffee fan (Thor’s Coffee, obviously notwithstanding — and I’ve grown to appreciate it in a nice tiramisu), whenever we go to a coffee shop, I inevitably get their version of a blended matcha or chai. Plus one for the grown up milkshake! That got the wheels spinning.

Oh, and the sudden prevalence of matcha candy everywhere — especially you Matcha Kit Kat. I wish I could quit you.

All I had to do was turn that lovely candy flavor and adult milkshake (if you think those blended tea and/or coffee drinks are anything other than adult milkshakes, I’ll give you the freedom to keep pretending) into an adult after dinner (or before dinner, or lunch) treat.

On the matcha front, I’ll be the first to admit I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to which to buy. I went with a ceremonial one from Japan and it tasted great. Undoubtedly, there’s a whole blackhole you can fall into when it comes to which to buy, from where, for what reason, etc., but I don’t pretend to be a tea aficionado, I just know what I like. I’m confident, if you get a decent one, you’ll make a great matcha cocktail.

For the chocolate, I (boastfully, proudly?) recommend our Homemade White Crème de Cacao. However, if you don’t have the time or inclination, I’m fairly sure that this will turn out splendid with whatever you can procure. Though, it might be on the sweeter side, so adjust the vanilla simple syrup to your taste.

Darn, you’ll have to experiment by making more cocktails. Listen, I know it’s a tough job, but you’re up to it.

Finally, the vanilla simple syrup that I call for, that’s just regular ol’ simple syrup (a 1:1 mix of sugar to water) that I steeped a vanilla bean pod into for that amazing vanilla flavor. If you don’t have a pod floating around, add in a splash of vanilla extract.

Now, without further ado, let’s get down to the Hazelnut Chocolate Matcha Cocktail!