Vietnamese Iced Coffee (Cocktail)
The Vietnamese Iced Coffee cocktail is 90ml of phin-brewed robusta stirred into 30ml of condensed milk, then shaken hard with 25ml of vodka and 15ml of coffee liqueur and strained over a highball packed with ice, with three coffee beans on top. About 1.3 UK units. It contains milk and plenty of caffeine. The base is our cà phê sữa đá, at the same measures. The vodka adds strength without taste, and the coffee liqueur puts back the coffee that the alcohol would otherwise thin out. Robusta is the point. Its bitterness, sharper than arabica’s, holds against the condensed milk’s sugar, and the bean brings close to double the caffeine.
Glassware: Highball Glass
Garnish: Three coffee beans laid on the surface
Ingredients
90ml
A dark roast, all robusta or mostly so, dripped through a phin as in the alcohol-free version. A double espresso will do, with a lighter, sharper result.
30ml
The only sweetener and the only milk, and the drink’s body. Use 40ml for a sweeter glass. Contains milk.
25ml
At 40% ABV, clean and neutral. It adds strength and leaves the coffee and milk to carry the flavour.
15ml
Kahlúa, at 16% in the UK, or a drier, stronger coffee liqueur. It puts back coffee and a little sweetness that the vodka would otherwise thin.
Instructions
Spoon the condensed milk into a small heatproof jug or cup.
Set the phin on top, add the ground coffee and drip 90ml of coffee through it; it takes 4 to 6 minutes.
Stir the coffee and condensed milk together while hot.
Pour into a shaker with the vodka and coffee liqueur, fill with cubed ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
Strain into a highball glass packed with fresh ice.
Lay three coffee beans on the surface.
Our version
No recipe for this cocktail is fixed. Ours keeps the coffee and milk of our alcohol-free cà phê sữa đá, 90ml of phin robusta to 30ml of condensed milk, and adds 25ml of vodka and 15ml of coffee liqueur, shaken over ice.
Source: our own specification. Last checked 10 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Mix coffee and milk while the coffee is still hot. Condensed milk melts into hot liquid in seconds; in cold it clings to the jug, and whatever is left undissolved settles at the bottom of the glass. Shake at once, hard, for 10 to 12 seconds. Hot coffee melts more ice than a cold mix would, so the drink comes out longer and colder, and a strong phin brew is made with that in mind. The shake also raises a thin foam for the beans to rest on. Keep the condensed milk. Fresh milk with sugar is thinner and lacks the toasted, caramel taste the tin brings. For a sweeter glass use 40ml, as in the alcohol-free version.
Behind the Vietnamese Iced Coffee (Cocktail)
Flavour Profile
Where It Comes From
The drink grew up under French rule, as a local answer to café au lait. With fresh milk hard to find and quick to spoil, tinned sweetened condensed milk took over, and the bitterness of dark-roast robusta held its own against the sugar.
No one is credited with the cocktail. Ours keeps the coffee and milk at the measures of our alcohol-free version and adds as little as it can: 25ml of vodka and 15ml of coffee liqueur.
The Phin Filter
A phin is a little metal filter for one cup, set on top of the glass. Water seeps through the grounds over four to six minutes, and what drips out is thick and strong, with less acid than espresso.
That strength counts for more here than in the alcohol-free glass. The coffee has to survive condensed milk, vodka, liqueur and a hard shake over ice. A weak brew comes out as sweet milk with a faint coffee note.
What the Spirits Add
Vodka alone would only thin the drink. The coffee liqueur answers that, adding coffee and some sugar, so the glass tastes of coffee first and alcohol second.
The spirit stays neutral on purpose. The character is the robusta and the condensed milk; a flavoured spirit would add a third voice. At about 1.3 units in a long glass, it is lighter than an Espresso Martini, which carries about 2.6.
Coffee, Milk and Vodka Four Ways
The Vietnamese Iced Coffee cocktail beside three related drinks
Vietnamese Iced Coffee cocktail
- Coffee
- 90ml phin robusta
- Milk
- 30ml condensed milk
- Alcohol
- 25ml vodka, 15ml coffee liqueur
- UK units
- About 1.3
Vietnamese Iced Coffee (alcohol-free)
- Coffee
- 90ml phin robusta
- Milk
- 30ml condensed milk
- Alcohol
- None
- UK units
- Alcohol-free
Espresso Martini
- Coffee
- About 30ml espresso
- Milk
- None
- Alcohol
- 50ml vodka, 30ml Kahlúa
- UK units
- About 2.6
White Russian
- Coffee
- None
- Milk
- 30ml cream
- Alcohol
- 50ml vodka, 25ml coffee liqueur
- UK units
- About 2.5
| Drink | Coffee | Milk | Alcohol | UK units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnamese Iced Coffee cocktail | 90ml phin robusta | 30ml condensed milk | 25ml vodka, 15ml coffee liqueur | About 1.3 |
| Vietnamese Iced Coffee (alcohol-free) | 90ml phin robusta | 30ml condensed milk | None | Alcohol-free |
| Espresso Martini | About 30ml espresso | None | 50ml vodka, 30ml Kahlúa | About 2.6 |
| White Russian | None | 30ml cream | 50ml vodka, 25ml coffee liqueur | About 2.5 |
How to Serve It
Strained over a highball packed with fresh ice, with three beans resting on the thin foam. Serve it straight away; as the ice melts it gets weaker, not better.
For the same coffee with no alcohol, see the alcohol-free Vietnamese Iced Coffee; for vodka and coffee shaken up, an Espresso Martini.
Make it at home
The Spirit
VodkaVodka is spirit made from a farmed crop, usually grain or potatoes, distilled and refined so that the taste of that crop is deliberately reduced. Its legal minimum is 37.5% ABV, most bottles are 40%, and it may not be given a predominant flavour, which separates it from flavoured vodka and from gin. In a mixed drink it adds strength and body while the other ingredients carry the taste.
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Vietnamese Iced Coffee cocktail?
What does cà phê sữa đá mean?
Why vodka?
Does it contain caffeine?
Is it dairy-free?
Can I use espresso instead of a phin?
How strong is the Vietnamese Iced Coffee cocktail?
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Vietnamese Iced Coffee (Non-Alcoholic)
Vietnamese iced coffee, cà phê sữa đá, is 90ml of strong robusta coffee dripped through a phin filter onto 30ml of sweetened condensed milk, stirred together while hot and poured over a tall glass packed with ice. It is alcohol-free. The condensed milk is dairy, and robusta carries plenty of caffeine. The name means iced milk coffee; in the north it is cà phê nâu đá, iced brown coffee. It began under French rule as a version of café au lait. Fresh milk was scarce and spoiled quickly in the heat, so tinned condensed milk took its place, and dark-roast robusta proved bitter enough to stand up to the sugar. The phin is a small metal filter that sits on the cup and drips for four to six minutes. The coffee it makes is dense and strong, and it needs to be, because the ice cools and dilutes it the moment it is poured.
Espresso Martini
An Espresso Martini is 50ml of vodka, 30ml of Kahlúa, 10ml of sugar syrup and one freshly pulled espresso of about 30ml, shaken hard for 10 to 12 seconds and double strained into a chilled martini glass, with three coffee beans laid on the foam. About 2.5 UK units, and the caffeine of a single shot. Dick Bradsell is usually credited with it, at the Soho Brasserie in London around 1983. His account was of a model who asked for a drink to wake her up and then mess her up; he never said who she was. The measures are the IBA’s. Vodka gives strength and cold without flavour, so the coffee leads. The foam comes from the crema of a shot pulled moments before the shake, which is why the espresso goes in last.
Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 12 October 2026