Allen's Coffee Brandy is a
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
-flavoured
liqueur
A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...
popular in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, especially
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
. Allen's Coffee Brandy is prepared and bottled by M.S. Walker, Inc. of
Norwood, Massachusetts
Norwood is a town and census-designated place in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Norwood is part of the Greater Boston area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,611. The town was named after Norwood, England. Norwood is ...
. The beverage is 60 proof.
In the 1990s into the 2000s, the product was the best-selling liquor product in Maine for about 20 years. Sales in 2008 were 1,100,000 bottles. Gary Shaw, vice president of M.S. Walker, has noted that his company ships "a phenomenal amount" of brandy to Maine each month.
Uses
Allen's Coffee Brandy is typically served in a drink consisting of equal parts brandy and milk in a
pint glass
A pint glass is a form of drinkware made to hold either a British imperial pint of or an American pint of . Other definitions also exist, see below. These glasses are typically used to serve beer, and also often for cider.
Current shapes
The ...
. This has been given many names within Maine, the most common being a "Fat Ass in a Glass". Also among them are “Liquid Panty Remover", "Pus", "Rot Gut", "Allen's and milk", "a milk drink", "a brandy", "an Allen's", "Rockland Martini" and/or "Liquid Leg Spreader." Allen's Coffee Brandy can also be mixed with another Maine staple,
Moxie
Moxie is a brand of carbonated beverage that is among the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It was created around 1876 by Augustin Thompson as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food" and was produced in Lowell, Massac ...
, to make the "Burnt Trailer", also known as a "Rusty Car", or (with Diet Moxie) a "Welfare mom".
New concoctions and mixers have resulted in new variants and naming conventions. "Maine Breakfast" (alternatively: "Corker") is an Allen's and oat milk.
Legality
Allen's came into some legal question when the United States placed a
ban on caffeinated alcoholic beverages. However, with a significantly lower caffeine content, produced by the coffee flavorings and not added intentionally as with (the original)
Four Loko
Four Loko is a line of alcoholic beverages sold by Phusion Projects of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Four Loko's recipe formerly included caffeine. Phusion operates as Drink Four Brewing Company. Four Loko, the company's most popular bever ...
and the other alcoholic energy drinks targeted by the ban, Allen's Coffee Brandy is still legal to sell.
See also
References
External links
Allen's Coffee BrandyM.S. Walker, Inc.
{{Alcoholic drinks
Maine culture
Alcoholic drink brands
Brandies
Coffee liqueurs