Ditch The Irish Coffee And Welcome The Grog Cocktail Into Your Next Boozy Brunch

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What's not to love about brunch? You don't have to wake up too early, the menu is the best of breakfast and lunch, while (sometimes) keeping things a bit light, you share laughs with friends, and you enjoy a cocktail or two. You might think Irish coffee is the way to go, but there's an underrated cocktail destined to become your favorite brunch drink: the coffee grog. You take the world's best-known stimulating beverage and mix it with not one, but two types of rum for a guaranteed party.

You'd think such a mix of ingredients would be right at home at brunch, but the reason it may not have immediately caught on is that it's originally a tiki drink. You have to go back to the glory days of tiki culture, when icon Don the Beachcomber introduced the coffee grog with these key ingredients, plus a secret, spiced cream-based batter, and of course, fire. Yes, this was originally a drink with showmanship involving the careful pouring of a ladleful of flaming rum into the cocktail glass, making it less accessible for a modest brunch. In the book "Beachbum Berry's Sippin' Safari," former bartender at Don's Beachcomber in Hollywood, Raymond Buhen, recounts that only founder Donn Beach could prepare and serve the coffee grog because of its intricate nature. Today, the ingredients for coffee grog are, for the most part, widely available. The drink can even be made without the flames and other embellishments.

One relatively contemporary cocktail book, Charles H. Baker's "The South American Gentleman's Companion," offers a coffee grog that is easier to make while still preserving the essence of the drink. The alcohol base consists of 2 ounces of powerful 151 Demerara rum, plus half an ounce of Jamaican rum to balance out the strength with some sweetness. Just use a cinnamon stick to stir half a cup of hot coffee with the rums, plus a few whole cloves and sugar or honey. You can garnish further with orange peel for mellow acidity. It's the kind of coffee grog that will liven up a brunch without the need for theatrics.

When it comes to the coffee for your grog cocktail, it's best to use beans you're familiar with and already enjoy. However, you have some flexibility when it comes to experimentation. Consider trying different varieties, from tinkering with the shade of your roasts to using single-origin beans vs. blends and even flavored coffee. While it's not tiki-related, Bones Coffee Company's Highland Grog has notes of rum-friendly butterscotch and caramel.

There are, of course, plenty of brunch cocktail options. Bloody marys are classic. Champagne and mimosas couldn't be simpler (just don't overflow the flute). But while Irish coffee is a staple, brunch is the perfect time for a bit of a tropical adventure. So, for your next Sunday brunch (not breakfast), try pairing a coffee grog with your flapjacks or eggs Benedict.