In addition to its flagship product Unicum Zwack, Hungarian Zwack company has created a comprehensive range of other liqueurs, herbal liqueurs and palinkas (plum spirit). Traditional Unicum and plum-flavored versions I have already reviewed, but  there is also a version flavored with Arabica coffee beans. The coffee-herb liqueur called Barista is made in much the same way as Unicum Szilva. While in Szilva, where dried plums were macerating in the traditional Unicum bitter, in Barista there are coffee beans which are laying in the barrel for a few months. It should be mentioned that the coffee beans come from Costa Rica, from the farm of Hungarian coffee farmer Laszlo Banyai. A 50 cl bottle of Barista cost €13.50 at Budapest airport.

The aroma is very coffee-like, but there is also a familiar herbal note in the background. However, in the taste, the coffee remains a stepchild, with the strong bitter and herbal aroma of Unicum Zwack maintaining strict discipline. There is sweetness in the beginning, but the sweetness evaporates quite quickly, perhaps due to the acidity of the coffee. The aftertaste is already quite dry and the coffee aromas compete alongside the herbal and bitter nuances. Barista is quite easy to sip on its own, the bitterness is rather moderate and the liqueur has enough sweetness. However, the combination of coffee and bitter herbal aromas is not quite as tasty as it was in the plum-flavored Szilva. Rather than Barista on its own, I would enjoy a traditional Unicum or the Szilva version with hot coffee.

83/100