Pharisäer

Pharisäer belongs to Nordfriesland, up on the Schleswig-Holstein coast, where coffee, rum, and cream make more sense than a little glass with an umbrella in it. This is a winter drink, a feast drink, the cup you set down after a meal or on a cold evening when the wind has done its work. The north hides rum under cream; in the Rheingau they flame brandy in Rüdesheimer Kaffee. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders.

The method is simple, so there is nowhere to hide. Strong hot coffee first, sugar dissolved while it can still melt cleanly, then good dark rum, then a thick cap of lightly whipped cream laid on top. Do not stir. The cream traps the rum's smell, cools the first sip, and makes you drink the coffee through it. Stir it and you've made sweet coffee with cream. Worse drink, less story.

Use real coffee and real cream. Nicht aus dem Glas, not from a bottle of coffee syrup, not from a spray can. Whip the cream only until it mounds softly, because stiff cream sits like putty and thin cream sinks. The whole drink is decided by that cap. Das braucht seine Zeit, and in this case the time is only two minutes, so don't be lazy.