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10 Intensely Rich Coffee Liqueurs


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Coffee is not only reserved for that morning cup of energising joe to help you start your day. The best coffee liqueurs add a generous splash of alcohol to be enjoyed as an exotic after-dinner drink or nightcap.

Coffee liqueurs are an invigorating addition to several iconic cocktails. The espresso martini, white Russian, and the infamous widow-maker all rely on coffee-infused liqueur for their signature kick.

However you enjoy your coffee liqueur, with more & more exquisitely blended varieties coming on the market, you are becoming spoilt for choice.

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Best Coffee Liqueurs

The best coffee liqueurs are packed with rich-tasting coffee, plus hints of dark chocolate, vanilla and even spices. Here are 10 to consider.

1. Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur

Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur
Credit: Kahlua

Overview

  • Distiller: Kahlua
  • ABV: 16% (32 Proof)
  • Country: Mexico
  • Colour: Deep Brown

Review

Kahlúa coffee liqueur was born in 1936 and produced by Pedro Domecq in the Veracruz region, Mexico. Its name means “House of the Acolhua people.” This original coffee liqueur remains one of the most popular worldwide.

Kahlúa is made from shade-grown coffee beans and sugarcane-based rum. Roasted Arabica coffee is blended with the rum spirit before allowing the brew to rest for four weeks before being bottled.

On The Nose

The tantalising aromas of rich freshly ground coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla and white rum.

On The Palate

Soft yet deep, rich flavours of Arabica coffee, sweet molasses, with a finish of roasted buttery chestnut tones.

Best Served

Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur is best enjoyed neat over ice or used as the base for a tasty white Russian.

Pricing & Info

You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.

2. Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur

Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
Credit: Mr Black

Overview

  • Distiller: Distillery Botanica
  • ABV: 23% (46 Proof)
  • Country: Australia
  • Colour: Dark Brown/Black

Review

Mr. Black cold brew coffee liqueur was born in 2013 by two coffee enthusiasts that feel coffee is not just for the mornings. Made from perfect hand-selected roasted coffee beans in the distillery just north of Sydney, Australia, this is a craft coffee liqueur.

Cold-brewed coffee is made with purified cold water and coffee beans from Papua New Guinea, Kenya, and Columbia. It is cold-pressed and infused with wheat-based vodka spirit and cane sugar.

On The Nose

A decadent brew with a strong smell of aromatic coffee and the spiciness of white pepper.

On The Palate

Rich and slightly bitter coffee and chocolate with hints of vanilla. It finishes with an intense coffee flavour with a touch of citrus.

Best Served

Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur is best served in a classic-style espresso martini.

Pricing & Info

You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.

3. VIVIR Café VS Coffee Liqueur

VIVIR Café VS Coffee Liqueur
Credit: VIVIR

Overview

  • Distiller: VIVIR
  • ABV: 30% (60 Proof)
  • Country: Mexico
  • Colour: Dark Brown

Review

VIVIR café coffee liqueur was officially launched in 2019. It was made to challenge tequila’s reputation as the throwback shot accompanied by salt and lime.

This coffee liqueur is produced in Jalisco, Mexico using sourced coffee beans, premium VIVIR Tequila Blanco, and sweetened with piloncillo sugar.

On The Nose

A 30% ABV coffee liqueur hits your nose with richly roasted coffee, sugar cane and sweet agave.

On The Palate

Rich coffee essence and milk chocolate tones. It finishes off with a lingering taste of sweet, agave flavours to remind you of its tequila heritage.

Best Served

VIVIR Café Coffee Liqueur is ideal for any classic coffee cocktail you care to imagine, especially the Espresso Martini.

Pricing & Info

You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.

4. Flor de Caña Spresso Coffee Liqueur

Flor de Caña Spresso Coffee Liqueur
Credit: Flor de Caña

Overview

  • Distiller: Flor de Caña
  • ABV: 30% (60 Proof)
  • Country: Nicaragua
  • Colour: Intense Black

Review

Flor de Caña Spresso is produced at the base of a volcano in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua. This distillery, founded in 1890, is the largest producing distillery in Central America that boasts the only one of its kind to be rated eco-friendly.

An intense black coffee essence produced with its perfect seven-year-old oak barrel-aged rum is trade certified. It is sweetened with a pure natural syrup.

On The Nose

A rich sweet aroma of coffee infused with smooth woody notes.

On The Palate

Initially zesty, it mellows into rich flavours of caramel and sweet molasses. The finish is subtly woody, dry and smooth with lingering coffee essence.

Best Served

Flor De Caña Spresso Coffee Liqueur is best served neat, on the rocks, and slowly sipped to enjoy its incredible smoothness.

Pricing & Info

You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.

5. St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur

St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur
Credit: St George Spirits

Overview

  • Distiller: St George Spirits
  • ABV: 25% (50 Proof)
  • Country: United States
  • Colour: Deep Brown

Review

Inspired by a love of New Orleans, St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur is an elegant liqueur. It is made by roasting ¾ light roasted and ¼ heavily roasted Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee beans.

The coffee beans are chosen for their bursting aromas notes of raspberry and blueberry. The cold-infusion of all the ingredients, including French chicory, Madagascar vanilla beans, and organic sugar cane, make for an exquisite liqueur that screams sophistication.

On The Nose

A beautifully crafted liqueur with a complex aroma mix of fruity tones infused with a rich coffee aroma.

On The Palate

Strong espresso coffee with a slight mix of sweet, decadent chocolate and rich dates. The finish reveals smoked chicory root muddled with roasted coffee beans.

Best Served

With its sweet yet rich profile, St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur is best enjoyed neat as a post-dessert digestif.

Pricing & Info

You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.

6. Jägermeister Cold Brew Liqueur

Jägermeister Cold Brew Liqueur
Credit: Jägermeister

Overview

  • Distiller: Jägermeister
  • ABV: 33% (66 Proof)
  • Country: Germany
  • Colour: Amber

Review

Jägermeister Cold Brew Liqueur merged the 56 botanicals of the original Jägermeister. It is infused with the rich aromatic flavours of the best cold brewed Arabic coffee. To spice it up, they even threw in a dash of cocoa.

Let’s face it, Jägermeister is the iconic herbal liqueur, and this Cold brew liqueur must be a force to reckon with. This is the first time in 80 years that Jägermeister hasn’t made a limited edition but decided to make this a permanent addition to its list.

On the Nose

A kaleidoscope of herbs and spices infused with anise and rich coffee. 

On The Palate

Slightly bitter Arabica coffee essence and deep rich chocolate flavours, with the slight spiciness of ginger and cinnamon. The finish is coffee with a touch of saffron.

Best Served

Jägermeister themselves recommend that Jägermeister Cold Brew Liqueur is best served straight from the freezer at a rather chilly -18 Celcius.

Pricing & Info

You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.

7. Cazcabel Coffee Liqueur

Cazcabel Coffee Liqueur
Credit: Cazcabel

Overview

  • Distiller: Cazcabel
  • ABV: 34% (68 Proof)
  • Country: Mexico
  • Colour: Dark Brown

Review

Cazcabel Coffee Liqueur is made from 100% natural homegrown Agave Tequila Blanco; it is infused with a blend of Arabic coffee sources locally from Soconusco in Mexico.

It is produced in a small town named Arandas in the mountains of Jalisco in Mexico. Their micro-distillery uses roller mills to extract the agave juices, which are then fermented in steel vats. It is then double distilled in copper pot stills.

On The Nose

An aroma of roasted coffee, earthy agave, sugar and chocolate.

On The Palate

Sweet roasted coffee on the open, vanilla and chocolate mid-palate. The finish is smooth agave with slightly dry coffee.

Best Served

Cazcabel Coffee Liqueur is best served as a decadent Espresso Martini or a Terry Choc.

Pricing & Info

You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.

8. Amarula Ethiopian Coffee Liqueur

Amarula Ethiopian Coffee Liqueur
Credit: Amarula

Overview

  • Distiller: Southern Liqueur Co.
  • ABV: 15.5% (31 Proof)
  • Country: South Africa
  • Colour: Mocha Brown

Review

Amarula Ethiopian Coffee Liqueur is blended with rich velvet creams, infused vanilla, and essences of butterscotch. The brand has incorporated the rich roasted flavours of Ethiopian Arabica coffee beans with their original Amarula Liqueur.

A South African-based company launched in 1983 with its exotic Amarula Liqueur. The Marula fruit can only be found in the frost-free area of the Pilansberg regions and is associated with the elephants that live there.

This hand-picked fruit is fermented and double-distilled, first in column stills and then in copper pots, before being aged perfectly for two years in French oak barrels.

On The Nose

Rich cream, coffee, zesty fruit.

On The Palate

Coffee collides with citrus on the opening, smooth chocolate coffee flavour mid-palate, lingering off into a bittersweet caramel coffee finish.

Best Served

Amarula Ethiopian Coffee Liqueur is best served as a classic Don Pedro or White Russian. It’s also enjoyable sipped neat over ice.

Pricing & Info

You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.

9. Patrón XO Cafe Coffee Liqueur

Patrón XO Cafe Coffee Liqueur
Credit: Patrón

Overview

  • Distiller: Hacienda Patrón
  • ABV: 35% (70 Proof)
  • Country: Mexico
  • Colour: Deep Brown

Review

Patrón X0 Café Coffee Liqueur combines their trademark Patrón Tequila, made from 100% locally grown Blue Weber Agave, with the essence of roasted Arabic Coffee essence.

Quality craftsmanship and precision distilling are created at Hacienda Patrón in Mexico with a small scale of 60 staff members perfecting the tradition of tequila making from beginning to end.

On The Nose

Aromas of freshly roasted coffee infused with vanilla and chocolate.

On The Palate

Sweet notes of chocolate and aromatic, rich coffee collide with a hit of tequila. It tapers off smoothly to a dry finish of fresh agave and coffee.

Best Served

Patrón X0 Café Coffee Liqueur is best served in an Espresso Martini or neat as an after-dinner digestif.

Pricing & Info

You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.

10. Borghetti Espresso Liqueur

Borghetti Espresso Liqueur
Credit: Borghetti

Overview

  • Distiller: Fratelli Branca Distilleries
  • ABV: 25% (50 Proof)
  • Country: Italy
  • Colour: Dark Brown

Review

Caffé Borghetti Espresso Liqueur is an Italian blend of Arabica and Robusta coffee sourced from Italy’s North, Central, and South regions. This combination of coffee is made in huge pots steeped with grain alcohol and sweetened with natural sugars.

The Branca Company was formed in 1845, and it has spanned over 170 years into its fifth generation of Branca ownership. The Borghetti Espresso liqueur was born in 2001 and is made using an ancient recipe from Ugo Borghetti, handed down in 1860.

On The Nose

Deep, rich roasted coffee aroma and a subtle smokiness.

On The Palate

Rich espresso meets dark chocolate. The finish lingers with sweeter chocolate, milky coffee, and a slight nuttiness.

Best Served

Caffé Borghetti Espresso Liqueur is best served as a base for a flavoursome Espresso Martini, King George or Black Russian cocktail.

Pricing & Info

You can check the latest pricing, product information, and order online.

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Ingrid’s Top Pick

Best Coffee Liqueur

Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur

My top pick is Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur. The rich and slightly bitter coffee, rich chocolate, and sweet vanilla flavours pair well with an espresso martini.

Coffee Liqueur Q&A

Coffee Liqueur Q&A

What Is Coffee Liqueur?

Coffee liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that blends cold-brewed ground coffee with a base spirit and is usually between 25-35% ABV (50-70 proof). It is ideal for sipping neat or as the coffee-flavoured foundation of several classic cocktails.

How Is Coffee Liqueur Made?

Coffee liqueur combines cold-brewed ground coffee beans with an alcohol base such as rum, vodka, or tequila. Often, coffee liqueur producers will add sugar, cream or vanilla extract to soften the sharpness of the spirit.

What Does Coffee Liqueur Taste Like?

Coffee liqueur has the distinctive taste of rich, freshly ground coffee. It is often accompanied by hints of cocoa and vanilla. Sometimes sweet, sometimes bitter, the coffee notes are exaggerated by the intense kick of carefully infused alcohol.

Conclusion

The best coffee liqueurs are secretly making their way onto the shelves of mixologists and baristas alike. The marriage of coffee with the exquisitely crafted rums, vodkas, and tequilas of the world has turned the aromatic morning brew into an extraordinary blend of the world’s two favourite liquids for pure enjoyment night or day.

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Further Reading

Below are some additional articles from The Drinks Geek blog. We write articles on several fascinating areas of drinks, including different brands, drink types, cocktail recipes and more.

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