Coffee Liqueur Tutorial

First make your espresso (or strong coffee). Philip has an old Pavoni espresso machine he is very proud of but which I am scared to use because I'm used to using the kind in the coffee houses where you just press a button.

When the espresso is made, mix it with sugar and heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. You don't have to bring it to a boil. Let it cool.

Split your vanilla bean lengthwise to expose the tiny seeds. Put it in a large jar. If you use plastic, make sure it's food grade.

Add your espresso to the jar.

Add the vodka.

Now you must let it sit for two to four weeks before decanting into smaller bottles. If you are planning on giving this for Christmas gifts, obviously you will want to decant it in two weeks. One thing you can do is cut your vanilla bean into smaller bits so that each bottle gets a little piece. If you do it this way you could prepare all your bottles for giving now and not have to decant them later. I did this with my first batch and it worked well enough. However, I like to stick with tradition with some things and the wisdom of letting a whole batch steep together until it's perfect and then straining out the vanilla bean, or fruit, or whatever, seems to me to be a better method.

If you are going to let it all steep together in one happy mess, strain off the vanilla bean before transferring to bottles. With most liqueurs, straining the liquid before bottling is a very good step, I use muslin kitchen towels to do it. This strains off any sediment which makes for a prettier clearer drink. The muslin is tightly woven and so it takes time to do it this way but is rewarding. Another way to do it is to use a few layers of cheesecloth. I recommend taking the time to strain it.

You can substitute one half cup of vodka for brandy if you like. Many recipe variations call for some brandy.

One more note- I have made many liqueurs using 80 proof vodka because I couldn't get my hands on 100 proof. One of the biggest problems I've had is a liqueur that is too sweet with not enough alcohol punch to it. I was lucky this time that I not only got my hands on some 100 proof vodka-but it was also made within inches of my local eating challenge parameter! If you can get 100 proof, use it!

That's it. It's that easy. Most liqueurs will last indefinitely though I did hear from one source that hers went stale within a few months. My last batch was still good two years after making it. A lot of fruit liqueurs aren't even ready to drink until they've aged for three months. It should be stored in a cool dark place.

Now I'm going back to bed to try not to throw up. I've got Max's flu. I just wanted to get this posted as promised. Stay healthy everyone!!