Jack’s Bourbon Cooled Sumatra Coffee is Back at Holler Roast
Jack’s Bourbon Cooled Sumatra is back in stock at Holler Roast Coffee. Better, it is a new harvest year, and this crop is stellar. It was a good year for coffee growers in Indonesia and, especially, in the northern Sumatran region where the Mandheling variety is grown.
The flavor profile of Jack’s Bourbon Cooled Sumatra has shifted with the harvest. It has notes of earthiness, brown sugar, dried dates, maple syrup, and a nice, subtle acidity. Bourbon-cooling these beans brings out sweet tones of chocolate and a hint of licorice.
We quietly released 200 pounds of Jack’s signature coffee late in September and have already sold half! If you want to try this coffee, get your order in soon, because we always sell out. We can ship immediately or in December, if you prefer to send it as a freshly-roasted gift or use it for your own holiday meal.
It is no surprise that Jack likes this Sumatran bean with its complex flavor profile and hearty-yet-smooth mouthfeel. It is even less surprising that he prefers the coffee roasted more lightly than is traditionally recommended for the Sumatran bean. Jack does like to go his own way…
Sumatran beans are usually roasted to dark or very dark to bring out more sugars and counter the earthy flavors that come from the deep volcanic soil from the Mandheling region of Indonesia. But it is these earthy flavors that make Jack’s Bourbon Cooled Sumatra shine when the bourbon-cooling process is applied.
Speaking of the bourbon-cooling process: we stumbled on this method of cooling beans as we were travel-weary in Vietnam, seeking a hostel for the night. Street roasters used a liquid that turned out to be vodka to cool their beans. We stopped to taste the coffee and were surprised by the sweet, chocolatey tones. We got to talking with the roaster and he offered us a guest room for the night. We have been great friends ever since.
Ok, we did not actually discover it while traveling in Vietnam. We researched coffee cooling methods on YouTube – but the travel-weary story is so much more interesting, don’t you think? The way that the process works is that the alcohol evaporates and quickly cools the beans, allowing sweetness to develop while maintaining the natural flavors of the bean.
To cool with bourbon, it is important that the process start the moment the roast is finished. This means it’s more involved to produce Jack’s Bourbon Cooled Sumatra than other varieties at Holler Roast Coffee. Please note that we use Four Roses Bourbon. Both factors explain why the $25/pound price is worth every penny.
With the holidays coming fast, treat yourself and your friends to a truly unique and tasty treat: Jack’s Bourbon Cooled Sumatra.
Note: Last year we recommended the Blonde roast, but this year the flavors shine better at a medium roast. Don’t forget to use your MSB discount when ordering.