Beverly Café: Espresso Martini-Inspired Whiskey, 550 Bottles
A whiskey inspired by an Espresso Martini sounds like a flavored gimmick, but Beverly Café is a bourbon-rye blend that gets its personality from the barrels. Beverly Spirits finished it in casks that once held coffee liqueur and blood orange liqueur, then bottled it at a hearty 110 proof. Only 550 bottles exist, and the idea started with a cocktail in Osaka.
What Makes This Release Special?
The spark was a drink called Serenade to a Stranger, which founder Andrew Borenzweig fell for at Gucci Giardino in Osaka. According to the brand, the bar uses Beverly High Rye as its base spirit. Borenzweig came home to Los Angeles and set out to build a whiskey tribute to that cocktail.
Instead of adding coffee flavoring, Beverly Café gets its character entirely from barrel finishing, so it is still whiskey and not a flavored whiskey. Finishing means moving whiskey into a second cask for a stretch of extra aging, so it soaks up whatever that cask held before. Here, that meant two very different casks.
Robb Report's reviewer called it an assertive finish, and said it reminded him of High West's intense cask finishing, turning the whiskey into something like a high-end bottled cocktail.
Inside the Bottle
The base is Beverly's signature 50/50 blend of bourbon and rye, combined with straight bourbon and rye from MGP in Indiana. The final blend of those four whiskeys works out to a mashbill (the grain recipe) of 54 percent rye, 38 percent corn and 8 percent malted barley. That is a rye-forward mix, which tends to bring spice and snap.
Then came the finish. The whiskey spent six months in Barrel-Aged Black Hjerte coffee liqueur casks, and another six months in Blood Orange Black Hjerte casks. Both come from Los Angeles brand Laurel Canyon Spirits. The two finished whiskeys were blended and bottled at 110 proof (55% ABV).
The brand's tasting notes were not in the source, but Robb Report's reviewer found coffee first, then dark chocolate, maple, brown sugar, cinnamon and molasses. He described the blood orange as subtle, a slight citrus tinge on the back end. Because of the proof, he said it drinks like a whiskey rather than a liqueur, neat or over ice, and scored it 86.
The Story Behind Beverly Spirits
Beverly Spirits is a young brand. Andrew Borenzweig founded it in 2022. The brand's site calls him a Los Angeles entrepreneur and whiskey enthusiast with nearly a decade of experience in the spirits industry.
Right from the start, the brand aimed high. Its lineup leans toward the premium end, with a core of Beverly High Rye, a cask-strength Reserve and an American single malt, all distilled and produced at Cedar Ridge Distillery in Iowa, according to Robb Report. It has also done a port-finished bottling made specifically for the Beverly Wilshire hotel.
Beverly Café shows the brand's habit of building a whiskey around an experience, in this case a cocktail that happens to be made with its own rye. It is a neat full-circle moment: a bar in Japan used Borenzweig's whiskey, and he answered by making a whiskey inspired by the drink.
Price, Proof and Availability
Official Name: Beverly Café
Category: American whiskey, bourbon and rye blend finished in coffee liqueur and blood orange liqueur casks
ABV/Proof: 110 proof (55% ABV)
Price (SRP): $140
US Availability: sold directly by the brand and at select retailers; the states carrying it have not been announced, so check with your local retailer
Limited Edition: 550 bottles
Did You Know?
The release is limited to 550 bottles, but Beverly's earlier port-finished bottling for the Beverly Wilshire hotel was an even tinier run of just 210.
The barrels went through a layered journey: they previously aged bourbon, then Black Hjerte coffee liqueur, and then this whiskey.
Tonights Poison Take
At $140 and 550 bottles, Beverly Café is aimed at people who like to try something outside the usual whiskey lane, and the Espresso Martini hook makes it easy to explain at a dinner party. The 110 proof gives it some backbone, and Robb Report's reviewer pegged it as an after-dinner pour that would suit dessert. If you like cask-finished bottles that taste a bit like a cocktail in a glass, this one belongs on your radar. With such a small run, anyone curious should not wait too long.
Bar Talk: This whiskey was inspired by a cocktail in Osaka, and the coffee comes from the barrels, not from flavoring.
Know someone who orders an Espresso Martini every time and has never tried it in whiskey form? Send them this one.
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About the author: Jas Sawhney (Tonights Poison) has spent 18 years in the beverage alcohol industry and shares new releases, tastings and spirits news as @tonightspoison on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Please enjoy responsibly.
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