Caffeine lovers, this one’s for you. The Shaft is a perky coffee-based Canadian cocktail invented circa 2000 for patrons in bars to sip as they tear up the dance floor late into the night… and morning.
Named after Detective John Shaft from the 1971 cult classic action thriller film Shaft, the cocktail is loaded with power, style, and attitude – much like the high-octane Oscar-winning hit. “They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother…” and they’d be right. Played by Hollywood icon Richard Roundtree, who sadly just passed, what better homage to one of the greats than raising a Shaft cocktail to its namesake?
We know the inspo behind the Shaft, yet there’s still some quarrelling “aboot” the cocktail’s true origins in Canada. Calgarians claim The Living Room’s former bartender Mark Smith created it, yet British Columbians say it was invented at the Strathcona Hotel in Victoria, BC. Wherever this cocktail was born, the one thing Canadians all agree on is that the Shaft is a delicious must-try cocktail for caffeine connoisseurs and night owls.
A huge part of Shaft's roguish appeal (yes, we still mean the drink!) lies in its delicious no-fuss attitude. Just add vodka, coffee liqueur, a shot of espresso and Irish cream and BOOM, there you have it: the perfectly balanced after-hours coffee cocktail. Just make sure you have your comfy dancing shoes on whenever you decide to dabble.
