Homemade Coffee Liqueur

We like Kahlua.

We bought a bottle in Mexico for $5. The same size bottle cost $14 in California. Guess how surprised we were to discover that the same size bottle costs $28 in Montana!

We don't pay sales tax in Montana. Great!

Oh, wait a minute.

Montana is a controlled State... so don't think you're going to walk into any old grocery store and buy a bottle of booze, cuz it ain't gonna happen! Drive, you must, to a State Agency which sells liquor and fortified wines at nearly double the cost that you'd pay nearly anywhere else. But I digress...

We decided to make our own coffee liqueur!

6 c Sugar
6 c Water
20 tsp instant coffee
8 c vodka
12 tsp pure vanilla

Mix sugar, water, and coffee together and bring to a SLOW boil. (If you think you're going to put this concoction on the stove and then go into the living room to dust, you'll come back to a really brown, really sticky mess that has boiled over onto your stove and beyond. Really... trust me on this.)

After it has come to a SLOW boil, (I can't emphasize this enough... see above) turn the heat down and simmer for one hour. Remove from heat. Cover the liquid with plastic wrap (which will pick up film from the top of this yummy concoction). Let sit for 12 hours. Remove the wrap, add vodka and vanilla and stir well.

You can make your favorite coffee liqueur drink immediately, but this may turn bitter with time, so you might want to drink this like every chance you get. The recipe makes about 3 quarts (not including what you wiped up from the stovetop... and beyond... I tried to warn you...)

We use decaf instant coffee for this recipe, cuz we don't do caf. We do, however, do booze.
Don't go buying that expensive vodka with the geese flying all around the label or anything... the cheapest stuff will do just as well.
Oh, and did I tell you that I've been making my own vanilla extract for years now (even the label on that vodka bottle looks old!). About 25 years ago, I bought a pint of vodka and put some split vanilla beans in it. The longer is sits, the better it is! I use this vanilla for anything that calls for vanilla extract. When the bottle gets low, I just add more vodka (or whiskey, or rum, or whatever you have on hand... it'll all make the best vanilla extract you ever tasted!).
Oh yeah, and add some new vanilla beans when needed. You can get them here . I like the Madagascan beans.
Your homemade coffee liqueur should be stored in dark bottles, or at least in a dark place. We save Kahula bottles and fill them up again. Don't you just love that bottle in the middle?I like a simple Kahula and cream, but you can look here for other drinks using your homemade coffee liqueur.
And don't forget... there are lots of yummy recipes for baked goods using coffee liqueur. Just Google 'baking and kahlua'.

Enjoy!