Espresso-Laced Vodka

[hstuurman]

I'm used to make my likker lower than 20% sugar & about 40% ABV. But maybe because of the coffee, I supose a bit sweeter is a good idea.

[northcountry]

Made this when first posted and was AAA. Liked the mocha idea and wanted to do a bigger batch so this is what I came up with. Still AAA by the way.
3 cups expresso shots
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1 qt. honey
1/2 cup cocoa
1.75 L vodka

[RyanS]

I can't believe I didn't see this topic. I have a bottle of coffee liquer I made a couple of weeks ago.

Just trying to remember the quantities.
- 350ml esspresso (I'm lucky enough to have already own an espresso machine, and grinder), but yeah go to a cafe if you don't have one. This was about eight double shots, so little expensive but 20,000 times better than kahluah.
- about 150 grams caster sugar
- 50g brown sugar,
- whole vanilla bean
- 350ml 38% vodka (I might try 30% next time)

Dissolve the sugar in a saucepan little bit of water. add alcohol, stick in jar, give it a jiggle once a day for two weeks. I just stuck it in a coffee plunger/french press a few times to filter it. It's very tasty.

My next project is a chocholate liquer just haven't found a good recipe.. maybe even chocolate orange liqueur

[liggettjonathan78]

Slow & Steady, another interesting recipe, ll try it soon..

[The Baker]

I can't believe I didn't see this topic. I have a bottle of coffee liquer I made a couple of weeks ago.

snip

I just stuck it in a coffee plunger/french press a few times to filter it. It's very tasty.

snip

"simple ideas I should have thought of myself"

[Slow & Steady]

RyanS... I have enjoyed the confection "Chocholate with Orange" for years. A liqueur flavored "chocholate orange" sounds like a worthwhile effort!

S&S

[memetic]

I made it as directed (with vanilla bean) and this is awesome! All my friends love it! They want to buy it from me. Personally, I would prefer it with less sugar (so I will cut mine with more vodka), but everyone else loved it as is, Very impressed! Thank you!

[Triple distiller]

Okay, I've made a litre of this stuff about three hours ago, using a vanilla pod and some UJSM Vodka (you've got to do something with it if you've got enough already). Let me tell you that this drink is BY FAR the best tasting liqueur I've ever made. And that after three hours?? Man, you've got to be kidding me. Can't imagine how this stuff will taste after a few weeks from now.

@lacedspirits, thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

You all know what we say: if it aint good enough to give it to a friend, it aint worth keeping it. Let me tell you, I cant wait to give this stuff to my friends.

Regards from below sea level,
T.

[hstuurman]

You see..If the dutchies love it everyone will love it

[a31nisman]

Wow, so good. I made mine as follows.

250ml (@8 shots) espresso
1 & 1/2 cups of raw sugar
half a vanilla pod
made up to 1 ltr using 40%

I made the espresso and put it in a pot. Added the raw sugar and heated gently till it just melted. Let it cool added the spirit and the vanilla pod. I shook mine twice a day for a week, sampling every day and then let it sit for 5 days and decanted.
It is so nice my neighbours tried it. They don't do home brew but are going to buy vodka next wknd and make some.

Thanx laced spirits. Our new favourite.

Cheers nisman.

[Washashore]

Definitely one of the most popular amongst my comrades. The vanilla bean is key. I also toss in a TINY, TINY chunk of star anise overnight (a little goes a long way with this stuff).

[Jday]

Last weekend I did a seasonal version of this with a pumpkin spice coffee. I overloaded my French press with the grounds and made a very strong pumkin coffee concentrate after letting it steep for awhile then followed the rest of the recipe to the letter( well almost, I cut the sugar a bit).it was really tasty and Everyone loved it! I think next time I'll throw a little pie spice in too.

[Michaeln416]

This turned out much better than I had hoped for, and I had very high hopes. It's now only 12 days old and I can't stop sipping it. There was no need to filter it in my case. I shook it up every day for a week then let it sit undisturbed for about 4 days. All of the solids settled to the bottom and I just poured the top liquid over into another jar, it separated easily. I'm glad I tasted the brownish colored solids before dumping them; they may not look pretty but they sure do taste great. I keep that aside for myself and add a spoonful to liven up my afternoon espresso. In fact I'm going to make one of those right after I submit this post.

[evanwiley]

Store bought is clear. is the a way to create a clear version?

[Michaeln416]

Store bought is clear. is the a way to create a clear version?

Other's have filtered. I just let it settle for a few days. 95% of mine is clear; I was going to throw away the 5% mud until I tasted it. Now I keep that mud in a separate jar hidden away just for me.

[joeymac]

Boy, these sounded so good I gave it a shot last night. I had some pretty smooth neutral sitting around begging to be used so I made some test batches. I used lacedspirits' original "Espresso Recipe" in this thread and northcountry's "Cocoa" adaptation and scaled each recipe to produce 28oz of each. My only deviation from the published recipes was scaling each recipe to produce 28oz total and then also using 120 proof neutral so I could bump up the final ABV to 30% without thinning out the liqueur too much. I used Starbucks espresso shots in both which was NOT cheap... A pint of straight espresso was something like $20!!

I got to admit that the regular espresso liqueur doesn't smell nearly as appetizing as I would have thought. Hopefully it tastes better than it looks/smells. But the the Cocoa/Mocha Espresso simply looks and smells delicious. I'm super excited to try it since it uses some amazing cocoa I got from Angelinas in France. I'm going to (try to) hold off from even tasting either for a week while it sits on the vanilla bean and let it sit for about month before really trying it out and sharing it. I made the rest of my neutral into 70 and 100 proof Apple pie that has to age a month anyways before I'll let anyone taste it... so it all works out nicely.

100proof Apple on the left, Mocha Espresso on the right (Click for fullsize)

[still_stirrin]

Here's one to try joeymac,
- 1oz pure coffee extract (Watkins)
- 750ml clean neutral (80 proof)

watkins_coffee_extract.png

Cost is about $3.50USD for a 2 oz bottle (better than $20 worth of starbucks). The mix is clear...well, it's black actually, but does not have coffee grounds to settle in the bottle like your espresso-laced liquor will. No need to filter it. And you can increase the extract if you like your coffee stronger too.

No sugar needed, but you could make a little simple syrup (1 cup sugar + 1 cup water simmered until sugar dissolves, then cooled) and add to taste if you like sweet coffee. I prefer it black, so I don't add any syrup.

It's a great morning "pick-me-up", especially served at 80 proof. Put an ice cube or two in your glass and you've got "iced coffee" perfect for a summer afternoon.
ss

[joeymac]

Speaking of morning pick me ups. I used to live over a starbucks. I used to get a stack of the clear frappaccino cups downstairs. Then on the way out the door I'd make a 20oz White Russian and walk to classes drinking "Starbucks". No one thinks twice about someone drinking what looks like an iced coffee from a clear starbucks cup.

[raketemensch]

I've got an Aeropress coffee maker, which uses up more coffee than most other methods, but makes the best tasting coffee I've ever had. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it really does make a huge difference. People spend hundreds of dollars on their coffee makers, but this simple $30 tube buries all of them.

Anyway, I've been thinking about warming up some neutral and pressing it through this thing. Maybe even some UJ.

I know people use adjuncts and flavorings quite a bit, but has anyone tried straight-up making coffee with booze?

[joeymac]

Running spirit through the actual coffee maker? Just make sure there's no plastics in it that will leech, or worse damage the coffee maker.

[raketemensch]

It's not a coffee maker, just a tube. But true, it's plastic. You could make one out of copper or stainless pretty easily, though.

Or maybe a stainless percolator or French press...

[BusyHive]

Thanks to the OP for this recipe. I found it a few months ago on another forum and have updated it to my wife's and my taste. In summary, it's an absolute winner! I had to also scale up the recipe to keep up with demand from SWMBO

We agreed the original recipe was a little too sweet for our taste so we reduced the sugar a bit. For the coffee, I started off using coffee pods in a domestic coffee machine which tasted great, but I wasn't happy with the sediment at the bottom even though I filtered it through coffee filter papers.

I bought a cheap cold brew coffee machine online which has improved the taste dramatically. IMHO hot brew coffee not only leave sediment which is hard to filter, but also leaves a bitter after taste. The cold brew eliminates both of those problems - a much smoother drink that's also 99% sediment free.

Here's my updated and scaled up recipe:

Ingredients:-
1L ~93% neutral hearts
1L cold brewed coffee
1L filtered water
500g white sugar
1 vanilla bean, split length ways

Method:-
1. Cold brew freshly ground coffee according to your machine's instructions. Mine makes 600mL at a time, so I do two batches. Takes about 24 hours to do both. (Tip: cold brewed coffee will keep in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, so you can brew ahead)
2. Boil just over 1L of water. Once boiled transfer 1L into a saucepan. I use filtered rainwater, just because.
3. Slowly dissolve the sugar in the hot water.
4. Allow the sugar water to cool to room temperature. I pop the saucepan in the kitchen sink and fill with cold water to reduce the cooling time.
5. In a 5L demijohn add the coffee and the sugar water.
6. Add the 1L neutral to the coffee/water.
7. Split the vanilla bean length ways and drop in into the demi.
8. Seal the demi, give it a good swirl. Every second day, open the demi, give it a swirl and allow the "stale" air to be replaced with "fresh" air. Give it a sniff and a "distiller's privilege" taste test.

It will get better with age, especially after a week or so. Try not to wolf it down too quickly!

Cheers,

John

[CoogeeBoy]

Now you're talking!!!

[Saltbush Bill]

For what its worth, loose a bottle of this stuff " original recipe" up the back of a shelf or a cupboard for 2-3 years .....then have a taste ........it sure don't get worse with some age on it.

[BusyHive]

Geez SB, I'm struggling to get 2-3 months on a bottle. I'll have to hide some from the missus and forget about it lol

Just to add to the above post - I remove the vanilla bean and bottle mine after about a week. Since using cold brewed coffee I don't even strain it, a vanilla bean seed or two in a bottle I think is a nice touch.

We drink it two ways - 3 ice cubes and 100mL in the blender for 30 seconds, like an espresso martini. Or a shot neat as an after dinner coffee liqueur.

Delicious!

[Biker24a69]

What's the mocha recipe?

Mocha Liquoir

At the same time your are making 2 liters of a Kailua Liqueur make this to add after filtering the Kailua. I bet the Espresso-Laced Vodka would work as a replacement for the Kailua.

Ingredients
1 cup of Cocoa powder
1.5 cup of water
1 quart of 70% ABV neutral

Procedure
Heat cocoa and water in a stainless steel pot, while stirring, on stove top but do not boil, just bring it to a near boil.
Place a lid on the pot and allow chocolate mixture to cool.
Put chocolate mixture and neutral into a 1/2 gallon jar with a tight sealing lid. Shake once a day for seven days then let mixture settle for seven days.
Pore settled liquid through a coffee strainer. The cocoa solids plug up a filter really badly and that is why you let it settle for seven days... that and you are letting the flavor extract completely.
Now add the extract to your Kailua and you have Mocha Liqueur!!!

Make a White Russian of this with a dusting of cinnamon and you have a Chilled Mocha-chino .

S&S

Wifey just started drinking cri brew or some kind of cocoa bean ground like coffee i usually run it thru twice to make it strong enough for me im gonna give this a whirl tonight

[Hoosier Shine9]

I have a question.....

I thought i read in this thread..... someone had used INSTANT ESPRESSO powder.
I have looked through the thread several times.
I did not see it.

Did i miss it on 2nd, 3rd & 4th time through?

If you have used INSTANT can you tell us how it turned out.

thanks
hs9