With the right base liquor, the right beans and the right amount of time, making your own coffee liqueurs is as easy as pie. Once made, they’re a wonderful after-dinner sipper, a perfect way to spike your mid-afternoon brew, a delicious means of amping up your ice cream sundae or boozy milkshake, or a fantastic addition to any number of coffee cocktails. I like to keep at least one option, and preferably more, on hand at all times.
How to choose your coffee? I lean toward medium-dark roasts—many classic coffee liqueurs represent something akin to a French roast, but a lighter roast allows you to better appreciate the flavor of the beans you select. My most recent project? A complete set of Northwest coffee liqueurs, each of five featuring a different favorite coffee from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia and Montana. The following are my own coffee selections—experiment by choosing your own favorites, and compare to see which coffee liqueur turns out best!
Coffees:
Washington || Slate Coffee Roasters || Kilenso, Ethiopia
Oregon || Ristretto Roasters || Beaumont Blend Espresso
Idaho || Avion Coffee Roasting Co. || Sumatra Gayo Mt.
B.C. || Pallet Coffee Roasters || Costa Rica El Indio
Montana || Black Coffee Roasting Co. || Mexico Chiapas
Ingredients:
½ cup ground coffee
3 cups water
1 cup demerara sugar
2 ½ cups vodka (you can also use light rum, dark rum or bourbon—keep it consistent if you’ll be doing a comparative tasting)
1 vanilla bean (optional)
Cold brew the coffee by adding grounds to 2 cup of cold water in a jar, sealing, shaking well and allowing to steep for 12 hours. Strain through a coffee filter-lined sieve into a large clean resealable jar.
In a saucepan, stir together remaining 1 cup water and sugar and heat to boiling. Remove from the stove and allow syrup to cool before adding to jar.
Add liquor to the jar, seal and set aside. If using the vanilla bean (this works especially well with rum and bourbon), add to jar and let sit for four days, shaking once per day. Remove vanilla bean and enjoy!
