During our Rhine river cruise, we stopped at the charming town of Rüdesheim and decided to try the famous Rüdesheimer coffee, which includes brandy and cream. This was an experience we couldn’t pass up!

We had already enjoyed the fairground organs, music boxes, and other mechanical instruments at the Rüdesheim Music Museum. Afterward, we strolled along the cobbled streets of Drosselgasse, lined with wine shops and taverns.

At Rüdesheimer Schloss, we sat in their bright conservatory and ordered the renowned Rüdesheimer coffee. The preparation of this special coffee was quite a spectacle. It was delicious and warming, putting us in a great mood as we walked back to our river cruise ship, the Amadeus Princess.

If you can’t visit Rüdesheim, you can try making this coffee at home using good German Asbach Brandy, as no French substitute will taste the same.

The Asbach company, founded in Rüdesheim in the 1890s, is a family-run distillery known for producing a German brandy that rivals the best French Cognac. In the 1920s, when it was frowned upon for women to drink in public, they cleverly created brandy chocolates so that ladies could enjoy a secret drink. The Rüdesheimer coffee, created in the 1950s, is still served in the town’s cafes and inns. This delightful drink combines sweet coffee with a generous amount of Asbach brandy, topped with sweetened whipped vanilla cream and grated chocolate. There’s also a summer version where Asbach is poured over vanilla ice cream, iced coffee is added, and it’s topped with whipped cream, served with a straw and spoon.

We enjoyed our Rüdesheimer coffee as part of our tour of Rüdesheim on the Rhine river cruise, but you can visit this lovely town anytime. For more information, you can visit the Asbach website or the Rüdesheim tourist information website.