Homemade Coffee Liqueur

Before you start

Coffee liqueur is coffee, sugar and spirit, usually with vanilla. Making it at home with cold brew gives a smooth, chocolatey liqueur without the harsh edges hot-brewed coffee can bring. It is the base of the White Russian and a common partner in espresso martinis, and it is good poured over ice cream.

The decisions are the spirit and the sugar. Rum adds warmth and molasses notes; vodka gives a cleaner coffee flavor. A mix of white and dark brown sugar builds caramel depth. Cold brewing takes about 18 hours but needs no skill, and a week of resting with a vanilla bean lets the flavors round out. This version lands around 17 percent alcohol, a little lighter than most commercial coffee liqueurs.

Ingredients

• Cold brew100 g (about 1 cup) coffee beans — coarsely ground; medium or dark roast
• 500 ml (2 cups) cold filtered water
• Syrup200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
• 100 g (½ cup packed) dark brown sugar
• 100 ml (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) water
• Liqueur500 ml (17 oz) aged rum or vodka — 40% ABV
• 1 vanilla bean — split lengthwise; or 2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Combine the coarsely ground coffee and cold water in a jar. Stir to wet all the grounds, cover and leave at room temperature for 18 hours.
2. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, then through a paper filter. You should have about 380 ml of concentrate.
3. Make the syrup by heating both sugars with the water, stirring until dissolved. Cool it to room temperature.
4. Combine the cold brew, cooled syrup and spirit in a large jar. Add the split vanilla bean.
5. Seal the jar and let it rest in a cool, dark place for 7 days, shaking it gently every day or two.
6. Remove the vanilla bean, strain through a coffee filter if any sediment has formed, and bottle. Serve over ice, or use 30 ml in a White Russian with 45 ml vodka and 30 ml cream.

Tips for success

• Grind coarsely for cold brew. Fine grounds make a muddy concentrate that is hard to filter.
• Dry the used vanilla bean and bury it in sugar for vanilla sugar.
• For a stronger liqueur, use 100-proof spirit or slightly less syrup.

Substitutions

Aged rum

Vodka gives a cleaner, more coffee-forward liqueur; brandy adds dried-fruit notes.

Dark brown sugar

Demerara or more white sugar makes a lighter, less molasses-heavy liqueur.

Regular coffee

Decaf beans make a low-caffeine liqueur with nearly the same flavor.

Troubleshooting

The liqueur tastes thin

The cold brew was weak or the grind too coarse. Use more coffee or steep longer next time.

It is overly sweet

Blend in a little extra cold brew and spirit to balance.

Sediment builds up in the bottle

Fine coffee particles settle with time. Decant carefully or refilter.

Storage

Store in sealed bottles in a cool, dark place or the refrigerator. The coffee flavor is best within about 3 to 6 months, after which it slowly fades. Discard it if mold appears.

Safety notes

This liqueur is about 17% ABV; a 30 ml pour contains about 0.3 U.S. standard drinks (one standard drink is about 14 g of pure alcohol), and the batch holds about 11. It also contains caffeine from coffee. Serve only to adults of legal drinking age and never drink and drive.