St. George Nola Coffee Liqueur RNDC

25% ABV

THE SPIRIT

Our rich and satisfying NOLA Coffee Liqueur was inspired by our love for New Orleans–style coffee, as well as by distiller Dave Smith’s own love story. (For more on that, read on…) 

THE PROCESS

Sourcing
St. George head distiller Dave Smith searched high and low for the perfect ingredients to create an homage to New Orleans–style coffee. Ethiopian Arabica coffee beans, French-roasted chicory root, Madagascar vanilla, and organic cane sugar impart just the right balance of flavors.

Roasting
Our friend and professional roaster Brad Joyce has roasted every batch of beans for NOLA on Lil Ugly, our early-1950s Probat 12kg roaster. We rely mostly on medium to dark roasts for our process, but also incorporate some lighter roasts to fully capture what we love most about Yirgacheffe coffee beans: bright raspberry and blueberry fruit notes balanced against dark and savory flavors. Brad’s depth of experience and intuitive approach are critical to coaxing out the character that we want to showcase.

Grinding
When our coffee grinder didn’t live up to the task, in true DIY St. George fashion we MacGyver-ed it and came up with another plan on the fly: Luckily, our grain mill gave us the perfect grind.

Infusing
Our cold-infusion method preserves the elegant flavors and aromas that we love from the beans, while minimizing extraction of astringent components.

THE EXPERIENCE

We chose to work with Yirgacheffe coffee beans specifically for their bright berry, chocolate, and round fruity qualities. The coffee’s contribution is complemented by the chicory root’s plum/date notes and bitter undertones.

Sipped neat, NOLA is delicious alongside breakfast, dessert, and any meal in between—with each sip revealing more character. In cocktails, it provides a touch of sweetness, earthy depth, and that robust roasted flavor that coffee lovers crave.

THE INSPIRATION

Most visitors to the Big Easy fall in love with New Orleans, but only a lucky few fall in love in New Orleans.

St. George distiller Dave Smith was one of those lucky few. He met his future wife in New Orleans while visiting in 2007. NOLA was the backdrop to their courtship, which played out all over the city’s famously sultry streets, jazz clubs, gardens, and cafés. And when they finally married, a New Orleans brass band burst into song after they’d exchanged their vows.

Lucky for us, Dave and his bride chose to make their home here in the Bay Area. Lucky for you, the city of New Orleans continued to occupy a place in Dave’s heart—so much so that he always wanted to make a coffee liqueur that tasted like the New Orleans–style coffees he and his bride had enjoyed during their courtship.

Dave and his bride even spent their first Valentine’s Day as newlyweds helping to roast the coffee beans that would go into the maiden batch.

We hope that everyone who tastes our NOLA Coffee Liqueur loves it as much as we do. But really… Julia, this one’s for you.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Carries the taste of very good dark-roast coffee to an absurd length. The taste of coffee lingers on the palate, along with notes of hazelnut and the earthy bitterness of chicory. The result is fresh and sophisticated. — Los Angeles Times

Robust, balanced flavor. It’s like fresh, bracing, cold-brewed coffee… meaning it’s beautiful neat, on ice. — Liquor

Delicious neat and makes for an amazing after-dinner drink. — Robb Vices

Full coffee flavor, with layers of roastiness, but the bitterness is rounded off with a sweet finish. — Serious Drinks

(A) delightful homage to New Orleans chicory coffee. — Chicago Tribune

Fruity, floral… Makes a great White Russian. — Tasting Table

Layers of roasted flavors (and) an underlying bitterness that’s rounded out with a sweet, fruity finish. — Supercall

It’s worth hunting down this bottle. — The Kitchn