If you didn’t know what coffee liqueur is, it’s literally the love child of two of the most loved drinks of most people: alcohol and coffee. But since it’s a liqueur, a lot of sweetness is added to break down the sharp taste of the alcohol and balance it out. It’s one of those drinks that can be enjoyed in more than a few simple ways and makes for a refreshing, yet simple dessert drink. You can have it after a summer meal, it can be topped off with some ice cream, with your hot coffee or you can have it any other way you like.
You can get coffee liqueur in your local liquor shop. But did you know that you could make it at home with some simple ingredients that you already have in your pantry? Making coffee liqueur is not that tough; this simple recipe is all you need!
Note:
The recipe that we’ve shared below serves 16 portions. It takes you about 50 minutes to cook and 10 minutes of prep time. You also need to use the infusion technique in this recipe which takes about 10 days.
Also Read: 10 Women Bartenders In India
Ingredients
- 2 cups of water
- 3 cups of sugar
- 8 of tablespoons instant coffee
- 1 (2-inch) piece of vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 750 ml of rum or vodka
Steps To Make Coffee Liqueur
Step 1
Take a saucepan over medium heat. To this pan, you must add the water, sugar, and vanilla bean and create a simple syrup. Make sure that you keep stirring this in the pan and don’t end up burning the sugar. Bring this syrup to a boil until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Step 2
Reduce this syrup to a simmer. Do it for at least 30 minutes or until the syrup has been reduced by half. Then take your pan off the heat and add all of your instant coffee to this reduction. Make sure that the syrup and the coffee mix well and that there are no lumps formed. Once your mixture is mixed, let this rest until it cools down.
Step 3
Use a tightly sealed glass bottle or jar and add your cooled-down syrup to it. To this, add your vodka or rum and combine the two by shaking the bottle really well. Shake it until the liquid in the bottle looks of similar consistency and there’s some foam that’s formed on top of it.
Step 4
Let this bottle sit in a cool, dark place for about 10 days. Every day, make sure you’re giving this bottle a good shake for at least 40 to 50 seconds.
Step 5
Once the 10 days are up, you have to strain this liqueur through a cheesecloth, muslin cloth, or a fine-mesh strainer. You need to get rid of the vanilla bean and all the coffee granules that have not dissolved in the liqueur. Once the liqueur is strained, store it in an airtight liquor bottle.
That’s all that you need to do to make a fine bottle of homemade coffee liqueur. You can enjoy this liqueur by itself or have it with ice cream or make any of the cocktails that you like.
Duration And Conservation
Store this bottle of coffee liqueur as you would any other distilled spirit in a cool, dry place or in the refrigerator. Also, if you’ve made this liqueur in the summers, we recommend you store it in the refrigerator as it’s best served chilled. Plus, the humidity might affect the flavors or the liqueur might also get ruined. Just ensure that the seal is tight and it will retain all of the flavors for a few months. Ideally, this liqueur bottle can be used for three months.
Also Read: 6 Cocktail Books To Buy For Every Bartender
Flavored Variants
If you are the typical Indian who loves spices in everything they have, you can replace the vanilla bean with some cumin seeds, black pepper, or any other perfume spices of your choice. You can also combine a few spices you like along with the vanilla bean for an enriched flavor.
Also read: 7 Easy Vodka Cocktail Recipes That You Gotta Try!
Tips For Making Coffee Liqueur
- The quality of instant coffee, rum, or vodka that you use, will affect the taste of the liqueur in a varied manner. So it’s advised to pick your regular liquor or coffee brand that you like to consume on an everyday or occasional basis. Experimenting is good, but not to an extent where you’d dislike the taste of your liqueur.
- Liquor infusion is a process that varies based on the recipe and the ingredients. If you like, you can let your bottle sit in a cool and dry place for over a month as well. That’s going to only enrich and intensify the flavors better.
- You can reuse your rum or vodka bottle to store your coffee liquor. All you have to do is sterilize the bottle and it makes for a great reusable container to store your coffee liqueur.
Summing Up
So that’s it, folks, that’s all that you need to know about the way that coffee liqueur can be made at home. It’s a very simple recipe with very simple ingredients that takes minimal effort and gives you some delicious results. You can make this liqueur in small batches or even big ones depending on your needs. And it’s also customizable which is a great bonus. So make sure you try out this coffee liqueur recipe for yourself and enjoy it on the rocks for the best taste.
FAQs
How Long Does Homemade Coffee Liqueur Last?
The homemade coffee liqueur that is mentioned in the above recipe lasts for about 3 months until it goes stale and you need to make a new batch. But, if you infuse the liqueur for a longer time, it should last for up to 6 months as well. So it all depends on the recipe and the process of making it.
Is There Alcohol In Coffee Liqueur?
Yes, there is alcohol in coffee liqueur but in small quantities. In the recipe given above, we’ve added rum and vodka, but you can also use whiskey or other spirits of your choice.
What Alcohol Is In Coffee Liqueur?
Coffee liqueur is made with either rum or vodka. For people who like a sweet note, rum is the way to go but for those who don’t mind having a bit toned down sweetness and sharp taste of the alcohol, vodka also pairs really well.
What Is Coffee Liqueur Made Of?
Coffee liqueur is made out of simple ingredients like sugar, water, vanilla bean, and vodka or rum. You can add more flavor by adding more spices as per your taste and liking, but these are the ingredients that you need as a base.
What Can I Use In Place Of Coffee Liqueur?
Instant coffee, coffee extract, coffee syrup, condensed milk, and chocolate syrup are some options you can use if you don’t have coffee liqueur.
What Liqueur Is Best In Coffee?
Did you know you could add liqueurs to give it a kick and add to its flavor profile? some of the best ones you can add are Baileys Irish Cream, Frangelico, and Godiva Chocolate Liqueur.
Do You Drink Coffee Liqueur Straight?
Yes, you can most definitely have coffee liqueur straight as it has a strong coffee flavor. It also has alcohol so its great to have neat with some ice.
