Kahlua is a sweet, coffee liqueur that’s essential to many cocktails. It’s super easy to make at home and you likely have all the ingredients on hand.

Unlike many liqueurs, it doesn’t even require that you ferment, steep, or meld it for weeks. You can just mix it up and drink. (Unless, you use vanilla bean instead of extract, which is nice but takes two weeks to infuse.)

Ingredients:

Hot coffee

Organic sugar

Vodka or Rum

High-quality vanilla extract

Directions

Mix 1 part strong, hot coffee and 1 part sugar.

You are basically making a simple syrup with coffee. A one-to-one ratio is not as sweet as the Kahlua you buy, but I think it’s much better.

When the coffee simple syrup is cool, add an equal part of vodka or rum to match your simple syrup. So, if you are making a small batch, mix 1 cup of cooled coffee simple syrup with 1 cup of vodka or rum.

Add a high-quality vanilla to taste. If you did the proportions above (1 cup coffee simple syrup to 1 cup alcohol), two teaspoons is a nice balance. If you want to use a vanilla bean, put one whole bean into this mixture and leave it to steep for two weeks. If you are using vanilla extract, stir it all up, and make a drink with it! It stores for months or years in a cupboard and is so much better — and cheaper! — than the stuff you have been buying.

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