Estate 98 launches Licor de Café Especial espresso spirit

Estate 98, led by brothers Andres and Jose Larin, introduced Licor de Café Especial on January 6, offering an espresso-strength, single-origin coffee liqueur aimed at cocktail programs and home bar setups that want authentic espresso flavor without espresso equipment. Branded as an "espresso spirit," the product was distilled and blended to replicate the intensity of an espresso shot while carrying clear farm provenance.

The liqueur is 25% ABV (50 proof) and is produced from shade-grown, honey-process, patio-dried coffees harvested on the Larin family farm, El Noventa y Ocho, in El Salvador. Those beans were roasted by Jags Head Coffee in North Carolina and then extracted into an "Esencia de Café" concentrate by a third party. Estate 98 blends that concentrate with a neutral cane spirit, a small amount of sugar, and a touch of vanilla, and bottles the final product in Miami. It is sold direct-to-consumer for $49.99 and will begin an initial retail rollout in Miami.

For bars, the practical value is straightforward: Licor de Café Especial provides a consistent, concentrated coffee flavor without the need to pull shots, maintain espresso machines, or train staff on extraction variables. That can speed service, reduce waste and simplify backbar inventory when a reliable espresso note is required in high-volume cocktails. For home baristas and coffee-forward cocktail fans, the product offers a way to "pull a shot" in spirit form, no portafilter required, while keeping an origin story to talk about with guests.

The single-origin, single-estate angle is central to Estate 98's pitch. By keeping the chain from farm to bottle visible, El Noventa y Ocho coffees, a named roaster, an Esencia de Café concentrate, and Miami bottling, the company is tapping into a growing niche of coffee spirits that emphasize traceability and terroir as much as cocktail utility. That provenance can be a selling point on menus and for consumers who care about farm-level sourcing.

Expect bartenders to test Licor de Café Especial in classic templates that depend on bold coffee character, and to use it as a palate-consistent shortcut during busy shifts. Home users can experiment in espresso martini variations and stirred coffee cocktails without setting up an espresso rig.

The takeaway? If you want espresso-strength coffee flavor without the machine hassle, Licor de Café Especial is a bartender-friendly, traceable option to try; dial recipes to taste and let the farm story do some of the menu talking.