Origin: Germany (North Frisia)  |  Prep: 5 minutes  |  Brew: 5 minutes

About This Brew

The Pharisäer is the spiked-coffee speciality of North Frisia, on Germany's North Sea coast. Legend holds it was invented in the 19th century at a christening on the island of Nordstrand: a teetotal pastor forbade alcohol, so the guests laced their coffee with rum and hid the smell under a thick cap of whipped cream. When the ruse was discovered, the pastor cried 'You Pharisees!', and the name stuck.

The rules are strict by tradition: strong hot coffee, sugar, a good measure of brown rum, and an unbroken dome of whipped cream on top. And you must never stir it. You drink the hot, boozy coffee through the cool cream, so each sip pulls the two together. Warming and indulgent, it is the perfect antidote to a grey coastal winter.

Ingredients

• 1 cup strong hot coffee
• 2 sugar cubes (or 2 tsp sugar)
• 40ml brown rum (ideally a strong dark/Jamaican rum)
• Whipped cream (unsweetened), for topping
• Grated chocolate (optional)

Equipment Needed

• Coffee maker
• Mug or heatproof glass
• Whisk or cream whipper

Instructions

1. Place the sugar in a mug.
2. Pour in the hot coffee and stir to dissolve the sugar.
3. Add the rum and stir once.
4. Top with a generous, sealed dome of unsweetened whipped cream. Do not stir.
5. Garnish with grated chocolate if desired and drink the coffee through the cream.

Tags: Europe · Hot · Easy