A carajillo is espresso with a shot of liquor in it, served hot in a small glass. Rum or brandy, roughly equal parts with the coffee, and a sugared rim if you want one.
Two things are worth knowing before you make it, and neither is obvious: the proportions, and the fact that there are now two quite different drinks with this name.
Hot or cold: two carajillos
The original is Spanish and it is hot. Espresso with brandy, rum or anís, drunk after a meal, in a small glass. That is what this recipe makes.
The version most people picture today is Mexican and it is cold: Licor 43 poured over ice with a shot of espresso on top, shaken or stirred, served in a rocks glass. It became enormously popular in Mexican restaurants over the last decade and has largely taken over the name internationally.
They share a name, a base of coffee and liquor, and very little else. If you came looking for the cold one with Licor 43, this is not it.
The proportions
Roughly one to one. An espresso is 30 to 60 ml depending on how it is pulled, and two ounces of liquor is 60 ml. That balance is what makes it a carajillo rather than either a coffee or a shot.
Worth flagging because recipes written in cups mislead here. A US measuring cup is 240 ml, which would be eight espressos against one shot of rum, and that is a mug of coffee with a splash in it. When a carajillo recipe says a cup of coffee it means a coffee cup.
It is not supposed to be a strong drink in the sense of knocking you over. It is supposed to be balanced, which is a different thing.
Which liquor
Brandy is the Spanish default and rum is the Caribbean one. In Spain you will also meet it with anís or with orujo, and in Asturias and Galicia the orujo version is standard.
What all of them have in common is enough character to stand up to coffee. Espresso is assertive and will flatten anything delicate, so a very smooth aged spirit is wasted here in the same way it is wasted in a Cuba Libre.
Sugaring the rim
Optional, and the step that usually goes wrong. Sugar will not stick to a dry glass.
Wet the rim first, with a wedge of lemon or orange or simply a damp finger, then turn the glass upside down into a plate of sugar and twist it. Do this before the coffee goes anywhere near the glass, since a hot glass melts the sugar straight off.
Where the name comes from
Nobody knows for certain, and several stories compete.
The most repeated has it beginning in Cuba during Spanish rule, where soldiers mixed coffee with liquor before duty for corajillo, a little courage, which wore down into carajillo. Others place its origin in Catalonia and connect it to the cremat tradition of burning rum with coffee.
All of them are plausible and none is documented, which is normal for drinks that were made in bars long before anyone wrote them down.
Other things to drink
- Colombian hot chocolate — the other after-dinner cup, with cheese in it.
- Cuba Libre — the other place a bottle of rum ends up.
- Cappuccino — the same espresso, without the alcohol.
Café Carajillo FAQ
Roughly equal parts. One espresso, around 30 to 60 ml, against two ounces of liquor, which is 60 ml. When a recipe says a cup of coffee here it means a coffee cup, not a 240 ml measuring cup: a carajillo is served in a small glass, and four parts coffee to one of liquor would be a coffee with a splash in it.
Both exist and they are different drinks. The original Spanish carajillo is hot: espresso with brandy, rum or anís, drunk after a meal. The version that became popular in Mexico is served cold, over ice, with Licor 43, and that is what most people picture now. This recipe is the hot one.
Both are traditional. Brandy is the Spanish default, rum the Caribbean one, and anís or orujo also appear in Spain. What matters is that it is a spirit with some character, since coffee will flatten anything too delicate. Neither needs to be expensive.
Nobody is certain, and several stories circulate. The most repeated says it began in Cuba, where soldiers mixed coffee with liquor for courage, corajillo, which became carajillo. Others trace it to Catalonia. It is one of those etymologies where the anecdotes are more entertaining than reliable.
Wet the rim first. Run a wedge of lemon or orange, or just a damp finger, around the edge of the glass, then turn it upside down into a plate of sugar and twist. On a dry glass the sugar simply falls off, which is why the step often fails.
After. Pour it gently over the back of a spoon and it sits briefly on top of the coffee, giving a layered look before it mixes. It makes no difference to the taste once you drink it, but it is how it is served.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup freshly brewed espresso (a coffee cup, not a 240 ml measuring cup: this is served in a small glass)
- 2 ounces rum or brandy (about 60 ml; brandy is the Spanish classic, rum the Caribbean one)
- Sugar, optional (for rimming the glass, not for stirring in)
Notas
Instructions
- Spread sugar on a small plate. Wet the rim of the glass, then turn it upside down in the sugar so it sticks all the way round.
- Pour in the freshly brewed espresso, then the liquor on top. Serve straight away, while it is hot.
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