How To Make Coffee Liqueur At Home

Read time: 2 mins

John H. Feb 25, 2021

Often made with other flavorings like maple syrup or citrus, coffee liqueur is surprisingly easy to make at home. All you need is coffee (we recommend ours), a neutral spirit such as vodka, and something to sweeten it with. You'll wonder how your bar cart ever existed without it. Plus, you'll save a nice chunk of money.

What Kind of Coffee Do I Need to Make Coffee Liqueur?

Above all else, you'll need great-tasting coffee. Most recipes recommend instant coffee (aka the freeze-dried stuff your grandma drinks). Red flag. If you start with lackluster coffee, you'll end up with lackluster liqueur. Not to mention, your liqueur will lack depth—there will be no floral subtleties, juicy cantaloupe undertones, or hints of chocolatey walnut. If that's not your vibe, though, no worries. We've got brews so bold your liqueur won't know what hit it. Try Octane if you're looking for a bite. If you're looking for a nightcap, consider brewing with a flavorful decaf.

Making a Basic Coffee Liqueur

Ingredients:

4 cups coffee, brewed strong (we recommend French press)
2 cups plain white sugar*
2 cups unflavored vodka
additional spices or flavors, optional

Instructions:

In a saucepan over low heat, combine 4 cups strong coffee and 2 cups sugar. Stir until dissolved.
If you'd like to jazz up your liqueur with additional spices or flavors, now's the time to add them.
Once dissolved, remove from heat and allow your mixture to cool to room temperature. Decant into a sealable bottle.
Add two cups of unflavored vodka to the bottle, seal tight, and let sit for a week. For better flavor, we recommend a month. If you're using more potent additives or spices, they may overwhelm the liqueur if left in too long so consider removing them after the first week.
If you haven't done so already, strain out the undissolved ingredients (cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, etc.), and serve over ice or shaken in your favorite cocktail.

Can I Make Coffee Liqueur with Cold Brew?

Of course! Cold brew can do and be anything. Using a 1:10 ratio (1:8 if you want it strong), saturate 70g (1/2 cup) coarse-ground coffee with 700g (25oz.) cold or room-temperature water. Allow it to steep for 10 - 24 hours and use the concentrate in place of French press above. Cold brew coffee is lower in acid, smoother, and sometimes more flavorful than its hot counterpart.

What Can I Flavor My Coffee Liqueur With?

Coffee and mixology are all about experimentation, so here are some of our favorite ways to add a little extra something-something to coffee liqueur:

chai spices: whole cloves, green cardamom, star anise, fennel, nutmeg, cinnamon
citrus: lemon peel, orange peel, key lime peel
other fruit: dried cherries, dried apples, dried bananas
sweeteners: piloncillo, turbinado, light and dark brown sugar, honey, agave nectar*
spirits: whipped cream vodka, spiced rum

* Plain sugar adds plain sweetness. Brown and natural sugars add sweetness as well as different flavor components. Liquid sweeteners like honey and agave nectar add even more flavor but keep in mind, they're much sweeter than plain sugar and adjust your recipe accordingly.

1 Comment

MK

Mark K Apr 26, 2021

I’ve been making this for decades and I use a different recipe. I adapted the recipe my Mom had using freeze dried coffee by using real coffee instead. I normally do a double batch, and end up with a gallon. Put 4 cups of water and 8 cups of sugar in a pot and bring it to a boil. boil for 5 minutes and remove from the heat. make two cups of coffee, with 8 scoops of coffee. Scoops being what used to be included in coffee cans in the before time. I use a Melitta filter holder and pour the coffee over it twice. As this article says, the coffee determines the flavor. If you’re going for standard “Kahlua” use 6 scoops of good coffee and 2 scoops of French Vanilla. If you want Tia Maria, use Jamaican Blue Mountain. Add the coffee to the sugar mixture and bring it to a boil, then remove from heat. Stir until it doesn’t steam and add 1.75 liters of vodka. filter through a yogurt strainer to remove any undissolved sugar or coffee grounds that got into it. It’s ready to d rink immediately but the flavors fully blend within 12 hours. Key trick with the vodka. You don’t have to buy good stuff if there’s a pet store that sells aquarium supplies nearby. Go there and buy some activated charcoal normally put in the aquarium filter. Put that in your Melitta filter holder, with a filter, and pour the vodka through a few times. it will make a big difference.