Coffee. That one word can unite so many. It is the fuel that gets us going every day, the catalyst for casual meetings, the lifeblood of moms across the world (I speak from experience). The intoxicating scent of freshly ground beans instantly energizes the senses.

Last fall I featured a cold-brew cocktail at the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival’s Battle of the Brunch event, along with a bloody mary and mimosa bar, and the coffee cocktail was the hands-down favorite. Of course! What does everyone want in the morning with brunch at an outdoor event? Ice-cold java, perfectly sweetened with a touch of booze to ward off any lingering hangover.

There are so many fun ways to approach the use of coffee in cocktails. Here are a few ideas for experimenting at home.

Freshly Roasted

This drink uses coffee beans a la minute, or “to order,” by muddling them into the cocktail. The freshly burst beans offer a beautiful bouquet of flavor in an instant.

This fun play on an Old-Fashioned incorporates notes of espresso with a hint of citrus from the bitters, the way lemon peel works with an espresso shot. I like to use brown sugar here instead of white for its greater depth of flavor. To top it all off, the dark chocolate salt on the rim lends a touch of sweet and savory.

• 3 espresso beans
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• 3 dashes orange bitters (such as Angostura or Bitter Truth)
• 1/2 ounce brown sugar syrup (sugar dissolved in hot water at a 2-to-1 ratio)
• 2 ounces rye whiskey (such as Knob Creek)

Muddle espresso beans in glass with bitters and syrup. Add whiskey, fill with ice, stir and double- strain over large ice cube in bucket glass.

Garnish: Dark chocolate salt on rim, 2 luxardo cherries on bar pick

Wake Up Call

This simple recipe was showcased at Battle of the Brunch. If you can’t cold-brew your own coffee, buy it by the growler at Whole Foods Market or pick up a cup at a coffee shop. Be sure it is unsweetened.

You could pre-make a batch of this for your next brunch.

• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) cold-brew coffee
• 1/2 ounce condensed milk
• 1-1/2 ounces Kona coffee-infused vodka (such as Glass Kona Vodka, or see note to infuse your own)

Combine coffee, condensed milk and vodka in mixing glass. Fill with ice, shake and pour into pre-rimmed highball glass.

Garnish: Cinnamon sugar on the rim

Note: To infuse vodka, crush 1-1/2 cups coffee beans with a rolling pin (don’t use an espresso roast, as it will be too bitter). Pour a 750-milliliter bottle midlevel-quality vodka into a large Mason jar. Add coffee, 1-1/2 cups rich simple syrup (2-to-1 mix of sugar dissolved in hot water) and 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise. Let infuse 3 days in a cool, dark place. Strain through fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth.

Tip Me Over

Tip Me Over uses espresso syrup, amaro (a bitter Italian herbal liqueur), aged rum and a rich, deep porter to tie everything together. Coffee is inherently a little bitter, so the herbal, rootlike notes that amaro brings to the party parallel the coffee flavors. Each component has an element of richness, but the layers of flavor complement each other so completely that the drink is not heavy or overly sweet.

• 1 ounce aged rum (such as Bacardi eight-year Gran Reserva)
• 1/2 ounce amaro (such as Rabarbaro Zucca or Cynar)
• 1/2 ounce espresso syrup (recipe follows)
• 2 ounces porter (such as Big Island Brew­haus White Mountain Porter)

Combine rum, amaro and syrup in mixing glass. Fill with ice, stir and strain into snifter. Top with beer, stir to combine.

Garnish: Fresh whipped cream and freshly grated cinnamon

Espresso Syrup

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup espresso

Combine sugar and water in small skillet over high heat and let thicken a couple of minutes, stirring so mixture does not stick to bottom. Once it turns a deep, golden brown, whisk in espresso. Reduce heat and let simmer another couple of minutes. Let cool; will keep refrigerated 2 weeks.

Ice, Ice, Baby

For those who like dark, somewhat brooding and spirit-forward cocktails, this one is for you. It would be an ideal digestif to finish the night with its bitter, smoky and coffee flavors. It could even work really well with a cigar.

The coffee component is actually in the ice cube. Initially it might not seem to have much coffee flavor, but as the ice melts, the flavors build and the java comes through. Because it is so simple, with just three ingredients, the integrity of those three must be intact. Make sure that your vermouth is fresh (it should be refrigerated once opened, and it will be at its best for only two to three weeks).

• 1 ounce vermouth di Torino (such as Alessio or Cocchi)
• 1 ounce Campari Aperitivo
• 1 ounce scotch whiskey (such as Aberlour 12-year or Johnnie Walker Black)
• About 1 cup brewed coffee, frozen to make an ice cube that will fit a bucket glass

Combine vermouth, Campari and whiskey in mixing glass with ice. Place coffee ice cube into bucket glass. Stir and strain drink over coffee ice cube.

Garnish: Strip of orange rind pinched in half so orange oils flavor drink

Chandra Lucariello is director of mixology for Southern Wine & Spirits. Ingredient note: The liquors and liqueurs used in these recipes are widely available from Oahu liquor stores and some supermarkets.