RECIPE: Miner’s Mocha
Miners in Searchlight during the boom of 1900 drank literally tons of whiskey, coffee, cocoa and tinned milk, and had access to spices like cinnamon, as evidenced by the bottles and tins they left behind (check out the photos below!). A research team from the Mystery Ranch that has been sifting through collections of this debris while studying Gold Rush foodways has assured the Gold Beam that, while they have not found any surviving recipes of the Miner’s Mocha, the artifacts found point to its probable existence during this era.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup brewed coffee (8 ounces)
1 Tbl Ghirardelli cocoa powder
1 dash cinnamon
1 Tbl sweetened condensed milk (to taste for creaminess)
1/2 shot (or more!) bourbon whiskey (Cyrus Noble was the best whiskey in town in 1900)
PROCEDURE:
Combine all ingredients except whiskey in a pan and heat over stove or campfire until warm and well-blended. Remove from heat, pour into cups and add whiskey. Serve in small doses (this makes two servings) and repeat as needed to get through the day.
We mix up a concoction of the two tinned milks and it keeps in the fridge for quite a long time.
You can also mix ingredients ahead of time and keep in the fridge to reheat. This keeps longer than a fresh milk-based beverage would and can last for up to a week.
