Homemade Coffee Liqueur

Coffee is a passion I share with a group of amazing Barista friends in New York City. The variety of wonderful, fair and direct trade beans available, roasted locally by Counter Culture, Stumptown and The Rook (among others) and handed over to us to serve with love at Beaner Bar, Black Gold, and Cafe Meccanica is astounding.

It was this variety that got me to thinking about making a homemade cocktail brew. As the recipe uses fresh ground beans, you can use your own favorite blend of coffee to give it a distinct and unique flavor.

The sweet and spicy Mexican Mocha, a signature drink at Beaner Bar also inspired me to experiment with additions to the recipe. The next batch I make will definitely be a chocolate/coffee liquor. And, for my New England friends fiending for the ‘Champagne of Maine’, I’ll be substituting brandy for rum, for a nice, home made Coffee Brandy. Both these recipes coming soon.

This recipe makes about 1 quart (4 cups) of coffee liqueur. Because it needs to cure for 2 weeks before bottling and is easy to do it in bulk, I made 4 times this recipe, all in one big jar, and bottled it in smaller pint and quart sized jars once it was done.

Ingredients

1 cup coffee – fresh and coarsely ground

1.5 cups Rum

1.5 cups Vodka

1/2 cup raw Sugar

1 cup Water

1 whole Vanilla Bean

Directions

Combine coffee, rum, vodka, sugar and water in a large glass jar.

Split the vanilla beans and scrape the seeds into the jar. Toss the empty pods in as well.

Stir, cover tightly and set in a dark cupboard for 2 weeks (the longer the better), shaking the jar regularly. I also recommend tasting it regularly. The coffee grounds will filter the vodka and the liquor will become smoother as it sits.

When you are happy with the taste and smoothness of the liqueur (2 weeks at least), strain the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the coffee grounds and vanilla bean pods. Discard the coffee grounds but rinse and save the vanilla bean pods.

Strain mixture through a coffee filter to remove any remaining sediment.

Transfer to smaller bottles or jars, adding half of a vanilla bean pod (or more) to each jar.

Seal tightly, label and store to enjoy and give as gifts.

Serving

I serve coffee liqueur with a little milk, over ice

– Corinna

Cafe Meccanica