Homebrew Underground

Part IV – Blending and Bottling

Shown below is a shot of the blending ingredients – back row, left to right: clarified infused spirits, standard sugar syrup, standard caramel syrup. Front row: vanilla extract, measuring cup.

Boil down the standard sugar syrup to 90% of its original volume to thicken it slightly.

In this case we start with 10 oz of standard sugar syrup. After boiling down we have 9 oz. Add to this 5 oz of caramel syrup. It is necessary to blend the caramel syrup with the boiled down sugar syrup otherwise the boiled down sugar syrup will crystallize if allowed to cool by itself.

Allow the blending stock to cool completely before adding it to the infused spirit. The point is to avoid the possibility that any of the alcohol will evaporate if it were mixed hot. Shown below is a jar with the blending stock.

Add the blending stock and vanilla extract to the clarified infused spirits according to these proportions: 4 parts infused spirit, 6 parts blending stock, 1/4th part vanilla extract.

Shown below is a comparison shot of real Kahlua next to my homemade Kahlua.

Part III – Filtering and Clarifying

Allow the infused spirit to clarify and settle for about 3 to 4 weeks, then setup 2 clean Mason jars side by side. Place a paper coffee filter in a coffee filter funnel over the other jar. Slowly and carefully rack off the clarified part into the first jar …

… then pour the remainder through the paper filter in the other jar. You do this to be able to continue pouring slowly without tipping the jar back and mixing up the sediments. If you were to pour straight into the filter, you would have to wait for it to clear to pour the rest out of the jar and there would be too much of a chance you would tip the jar back and mix it up.

Allow all the spirit to completely filter into the jar.

There should be a little sediment remaining in the original jar. Discard it.

Shown below is a shot of the clarified infused spirit combined into one jar. It is now ready to blend and bottle.

Continue to Homemade Kahlua Recipe – Part IV

Part II – Straining After Maceration

Shown below is a shot of the jar after 4 weeks. Don’t shake the jar during the final week of maceration to help rack off the clarified part.

Strain the infused spirit by CAREFULLY pouring it though a metal coffee filter. Pour slowly to rack off any clarified part first.

Allow to strain for about 15 – 20 minutes to collect as much infused spirit as possible. Set aside for about 3 to 4 weeks when done.

Continue to Homemade Kahlua Recipe – Part III

There are many recipes for homemade Kahlua® on the Internet. Some are simple and can be made very quickly using instant coffee and others require more time to make. I decided to make Kahlua (coffee liqueur) and tried a few of the available recipes. I discovered in a very short time that in order to make a good quality coffee liqueur I would have to figure out how to add the coffee flavor without the coffee becoming bitter or without the liqueur becoming too watery. These were the first obstacles to overcome.

The finished liqueur must be of a certain viscosity and alcohol content. If coffee is brewed in water, then the liqueur will be watery and will have a low alcohol content. You can get around this problem by using instant coffee. I tried several different instant coffees – some freeze dried and others heat dried – and I found that all instant coffee is bitter. There is just no way around it.

I had the idea that I could simply infuse ground coffee directly into spirit – totally cold – and that was the breakthrough. It worked. By infusing ground coffee directly into the spirits I was able to use any commercially available coffee. Real Kahlua is made from 100% gourmet Arabica coffee beans. I felt that it was necessary to use 100% gourmet Arabica coffee in my recipe as well so I found an online source at Dr. Soda.

Real Kahlua also has a unique aroma that comes from cane spirit, which is a cousin of rum. You don’t find cane spirit in too many liquor stores, but Bacardi rum is widely available. I found that Bacardi Superior rum does impart an aroma and flavor that is very close to real Kahlua so that is my first choice for the spirit used to make this liqueur.

Real Kahlua is also made with some caramel so my recipe uses standard caramel syrup along with some standard sugar syrup. Real Kahlua is a fairly viscous liqueur so it is necessary to boil down the standard sugar syrup to 90% of its original volume to obtain the desired viscosity. If you use too much caramel, the liqueur will have an undesirable, lingering aftertaste. This recipe calls for the making of a blending stock with the right combination of caramel and sugar syrups to obtain a smooth tasting finished product.

Part I – Infusing the Coffee

Shown below is a shot of the ingredients and 2 Qt. Mason jar. Bacardi rum will impart a better aroma (shown below: back row, middle), but you can use a cheaper brand of rum (e.g. Ron Caballero – shown below: back row, right).

Measure and add the coffee to the jar, then measure and add the rum.

Here is a shot of all the ingredients shaken up and ready to set aside for maceration. The ratio of rum to coffee is 4 to 1. In this case I added 5 cups rum and 1 1/4 cups of coffee.

Continue to Homemade Kahlua Recipe – Part II

This is a variation of the traditional Mai Tai that you can make with homemade Almond Liqueur and homemade sweet and sour mix. It is made with light rum only (a traditional Mai Tai is made with light and dark rum).

This is a variation of the Black Russian with the addition of cream (half and half). It can be made with real Kahlua or Homemade Tropical Coffee Liqueur or Homemade Kahlua. The proportions are very simple: 2 parts Vodka to 1 part Kahlua plus 1 part cream served over ice.

This very basic cocktail can be made with real Kahlua or Homemade Tropical Coffee Liqueur or Homemade Kahlua. The proportions are very simple: 2 parts Vodka to 1 part Kahlua served over ice.

This is a recipe for a blackberry liqueur cocktail that you can make with homemade Blackberry Liqueur. It is a dry cocktail (not too sweet and fruity) that is served in a Martini glass rimmed with salt (like a Margarita). It is a very basic cocktail that you can make with common ingredients like Vodka and lemon juice.

Here’s an unusual recipe for cocoa. I call it "fortified" cocoa. It is made by saving the cocoa and vodka paste from a batch of chocolate liqueur or coffee liqueur. You can also try to repurpose the cocoa paste in other recipes. I have tried repurposing the cocoa in some brownies I made, but it was not successful. It wasn’t so good in the brownies but it was good enough for this fortified cocoa recipe. The trouble is that most of the flavor gets infused into the liqueur and the remaining cocoa is weak.

Save the cocoa paste from a batch of chocolate liqueur or tropical coffee liqueur. In the filtering step I will use a paper towel as the filter.

Just "roll" it off the paper towel and save it in a glass or cup and cover with plastic wrap.

Add milk, sugar, salt, water and cocoa paste to a sauce pan. Stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve cocoa paste. When the color is uniform light brown, heat over a low flame until it is hot but not boiling.

Stir frequently to prevent scorching. Turn off flame, add vanilla extract, stir and serve hot.

This is a great almond liqueur cocktail that you can make from homemade almond liqueur or almond caramel liqueur. It brings out the natural flavor of the almond liqueur without overwhelming it. If you plan to make almond liqueur and give it away as a gift, then you can include this recipe. This drink recipe uses sweet and sour mix, the recipe for which can be found on the Bar Mixers page.