The Cortado Correctado: Coffee with a Twist

From the mind of Food & Beverage Director, Joseph Catterson

“I’m not an avid coffee drinker, but I do enjoy and appreciate the stuff. I went to college in Seattle and definitely drank my share. Travelling in Italy, I will happily belly up to the bar for a quick espresso with the locals or call for a cappucc’ to go with my morning pastry (I still think about the incredible bombolone I would get in Montepulciano). But one coffee presentation that really grabbed me and remains a favorite is the cafe cortado I came across when I started to spend time in Spain. That was quite a while back, and it was new to me. Since then, of course, it has gained its place in the repertoire of most baristas here. 

Still trying to wrap my head around the many details of an F&B operation like we have here at BIÂN, I looked at our barista Lisa one morning and asked her what she would serve a cortado in. I got a shrug back, not because she didn’t know, but because she knew all too well that we didn’t have anything truly appropriate; Lisa is an excellent barista. One of the charms of a cortado is the great little glass it gets served in. As a concoction, we’re talking equal parts strong coffee and steamed milk, usually 1½ to 2 ounces of each. Small enough for a quick pick-me-up, or just big enough to sit with for a little while. And I like the glass; one of my first bosses got me in the habit of drinking coffee out of a glass. (Something about our hotel’s porcelain cups sometimes retaining off flavors from the wash).  

So, I bought us some glasses to make a decent cortado! I know everyone has their favorite coffee drinks, but you can keep your flat whites and macchiatos. I enjoy the balance of a big shot of espresso and an equal dose of steamed milk. Not too frothy but steamed just enough to give it a creamier texture. Coffee cut (cortado) with milk. I’m told oat milk and almond milk do a pretty good job as well. 

But now I can suggest another layer of detail. Many Italians, you may know, like to enjoy a caffe corretto, literally, corrected coffee; an espresso with a splash of booze in it. So, we thought it would be fun to try a cortado correctado. Not to the point of being a strong drink, but enough to introduce some fascinating flavors. So, in this case, a cortado corrected with a splash of añejo tequila, itself cut with a bigger splash of aged PX. Do you know Pedro Ximénez? It’s a white Spanish grape varietal that does particularly well (and likely originates) in Andalucía in the south of Spain, where it finds its way into the production of some sweet sherries and terrific passito-style dessert wines in Montilla-Moriles in particular. With aging it turns into a dark, figgy, raisiny, chocolatey affair; truly delicious stuff for those of us with a sweet tooth. And not a bad ‘correction’ to an already noteworthy coffee drink.”