Cozy Irish Cream Cocktail with Kahlua

Warm up your St. Patrick’s Day – or any day – with this cozy Irish Cream Cocktail with Kahlua. Steamed milk gets combined with your favorite Irish Cream liqueur, Grand Marnier, Buttershots, and (of course) Kahlua for a sweet and creamy steamer cocktail you’re sure to love. 

While we have the occasional warm day, March is still a very cold month here in Michigan. So when St. Paddy’s Day rolls around, there’s a good chance it’s going to be less than 30 degrees and snowing. 

This warm and cozy Irish Cream Cocktail is the perfect blend of rich flavors and comforting warmth, making it an ideal choice for your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Whether you’re gathering with friends or enjoying a quiet evening by the fire, this delightful concoction is sure to elevate your festivities.

Ingredients

• Irish Cream Liqueur – Choose your favorite here. I love Five Farms, but Bailey’s Irish Cream works well too – just make sure it’s the original one and not any of their flavored variations. 
• Kahlua – Kahlua is the gold standard in coffee liqueurs. If you love another one, feel free to use that. If you want to lower the alcohol in this recipe, you can swap this out for my coffee syrup. 
• Grand Marnier – This orange liqueur has a strong and distinct orange flavor that I prefer in this cocktail. You can use a different orange liqueur if you prefer, but skip the triple sec if you can. 
• Buttershots – A sweet butterscotch liqueur, a little Buttershots goes a long way. If you’re new to this liqueur or are only going to use it for this recipe, look for small (2 ounce) bottles of it in the front of liquor stores. 
• Milk – Choose your favorite dairy milk for this level. I tested this recipe with everything from skim milk on up to heavy cream (insanely decadent). They all worked fine, it’s just how rich you want the drink to be. 
• Chocolate Syrup, garnish – Traditional Hershey’s syrup is always my choice for chocolate syrup when garnishing a cocktail. It’s simple, tasty, and always in our house. But you can use whatever chocolate syrup you prefer for this ingredient.
• Whipped Cream, garnish (optional) – You can do homemade whipped cream or buy it in a bottle from the store. Stick to dairy whipped cream in the pressurized can, and skip the whipped topping in the tub.
• Dehydrated Orange Wheel, garnish (optional) – This is a little bit of a more grown up garnish for this cocktail and also a way to keep the sugar down a bit, if that’s a concern for you.  

Make it a Cold Irish Cream Cocktail

Follow the directions above, using a cocktail shaker in place of the mixing glass. Add cold milk to the shaker and fill it half-full with ice. Shake well and double-strain into your prepared glass. 

Making Dehydrated Orange Slices at Home

You don’t need special tools to make dried orange slices at home. Just your oven, some oranges, and a few hours of time. Get detailed instructions here: How to Make Dehydrated Oranges at Home. 

A Note on Garnishes

This cocktail can be garnished a lot of different ways, some of which are pretty extreme. It all depends on your preferences! Try one of the ideas below: 

• Chocolate sauce swirled inside the glass (highly recommended!)
• Whipped cream (Bonus: Add sprinkles or chocolate syrup on top of the whipped cream)
• Cocoa powder dusted over the top of the drink.
• A dehydrated orange slice pinned to the side of the glass or floating on the top of the drink. 

Looking for more Sweet Cocktails? 

Try one of these easy and decadent cocktails! My chocolate martini with caramel or peanut butter chocolate martini are desserts in a glass. Want more coffee flavors? Shake up an espresso martini or pumpkin spice martini, both made with cold brew coffee, or make a cup of Irish Coffee.

Decadent Chocolate Martini with Caramel Vodka

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Whiskey Cocktail

Four Ingredient Espresso Martini Recipe (Dairy-Free)

Sweet and Creamy Pumpkin Spice Martini