$19.99 for 12 ounce bag- Sample supplies by Fire Dept. Coffee
Background
When I reviewed the first FDC Coffee offering that I was sent—Vanilla Bean Bourbon Spirit-Infused Coffee—I had meant to follow up with the second batch they sent me a week later. Then life intruded and put my schedule into a tailspin. If you know me, you know why…if not, let’s just say that January and February were difficult months in my family, but March made them seem downright easy. As I work to get the various compartments of my life back into good working order, I’m getting to some of the review material for Leaf Enthusiast that had to be put off a bit. Which brings me to…Black Cherry Bourbon Spirit-Infused Coffee by Fire Department Coffee Company.
“Take a sip on the dark side with this limited edition Spirit-Infused Coffee, made with the finest black cherry bourbon. It delivers a balanced blend of tart and juicy black cherries with subtle undertones of aged bourbon.”
That’s about all you’ll find out, except that this is a medium-roast coffee, like the previous one was. I’m going to offer some impressions about the coffee without, then with, an accompanying cigar. Then because both of these are somewhat unique, I intend to return to one or both of them for a couple follow-ups, including mixing some of the medium roast infused coffee with my normal French Roast coffee (to see if it delivers more of the flavor that I am looking for), as well as trying them as iced coffee…perhaps without and with some added actual Bourbon. Suffice to say, this is not likely to be the last you hear about these coffees.
If this coffee sounds like something you’d like to try, hit up the FDC website.
Notes
I’ll start out by saying that I’ve never heard of “Black Cherry Bourbon” and as a “Bourbon purist” of sorts, I would blanch at seeing that description on a bottle in a liquor store. If it’s mixed with flavors to be “black cherry bourbon” it’s a liqueur. Since this is just coffee, not an actual bottled spirit, I’m not going to belabor the point any more than I already have.
Smelling the whole beans, I picked up tons of fresh roasted coffee, but also some “other” aromas that were harder to place. Obviously, it had to have something to do with the Bourbon and Cherries, but it just didn’t have that specific of a note. When I brewed it and poured a cup, the overwhelming smell from it was of medium-roast coffee. Yes, I noted on the previous review that I just don’t care for medium-roast that much and the smell of it doesn’t do much for me either.
Sipping it was when things got more interesting. I prepared it as I always do…2 Splendas (or the generic equivalent thereof) in a large mug, no cream. The flavor I got was a very lightly sweet dark fruit/cherry note, along with notes of vanilla and oak, which is the quintessential “bourbon” flavor. After having a rather neutral reaction and opinion of the Vanilla Bean Bourbon Infused coffee, I was already liking this more, even though it was still a medium-roast.
After the first cup by itself, I lit up a Padron Dámaso and had the equivalent of another 2+ cups in a large travel tumbler on my front porch. The cherry flavor came through even better as I drank more and the slight vanilla and wood notes seemed to be enhanced by the cigar pairing. All of which reinforced my opinion that this blend was better than the other coffee…at least for my palate.
As I mentioned, after this write-up, I have plenty of the beans left for this coffee, so expect to see this show up again…iced coffee season is coming up…I really do wonder how it would be mixed with my dark roast “regular” coffee…and I wonder how this would be with actual bourbon mixed in…both hot and cold!
