Homemade Kalauha

[slickster81]

I've made it with espresso before, comes out OK, but my latest go to for "fauxluha" is:

1/2 lb Dark Sumatra (or any dark roasted, OILY bean)
2 large cinnamon sticks
1 whole clove
1 vanilla bean, split down the center
Everclear or any neutral grain alcohol of at least 150 proof (can only get 150 proof here in Michigan.)

Put the whole works in a glass container and seal, agitate every couple days for at least two weeks, a month is better.

Strain the solids out.

make a simple syrup of 2 cups water, 2 cups sugar, heat until the sugar is completely dissolved, but DO NOT BOIL. Cool and add to the booze mixture, stir well, taste, adjust for sweetness.

If you like it a bit thicker, like the real stuff, add some food grade Glycerin (that's how the distilleries do it), about 2 Tb per fifth to start. Mix well, check the consistency, add more in 1 tsp increments.

You can add more water to bring the alcohol content down of course....but why would you want to? Hehehe

Also, anyone who has had Sheridan's Liqueur on a cruise only to come back to America and find it isn't available anywhere (other than the web). (BTW, you can get it in Canada for those of you near the border).

The wife was wanting some more, so I did some experimenting, and came damn close if I do say so...

To 1 Cup of your homemade Kahlua, add 3 Tb Torani Caramel syrup and squeeze the oil out of the skin of half an orange into it, mix well.
To 1 Cup Half & Half add 2 Tb Torani Hazlenut syrup, and 2 shots good Brandy.

If you saved your Sheridan's bottle, you can re-use that to do the mixing, which is pretty cool. Otherwise, just mix equal portions of the modified Kahlua and the spiffed up cream.

This stuff will keep about a week in the fridge (yeah, right ....it will be around for a whole week )

Originally Posted by T.G

Hurm...

Might work. Need to think about it a bit though...

Besides the obvious of "that's how I received the recipe" and "not everyone has access to a decent espresso machine, but anyone can pick up some instant coffee for a few dollars"

Most instant coffee is supposed to be used at 1 teaspoon per 6oz water, 2 cups = 16oz. 10 teaspoons into 16oz = over three times more concentrated, 15 teaspoons = about 5 times more concentrated.

I don't know how many teaspoons of instant coffee one would use to make a faux or pseudo espresso shot, but I think 3 to 5 sounds reasonable.

So, I guess one could make up 2 cups (16 oz) worth of strong espresso and try it in place of the instant coffee and the water.

It might even work out better with espresso, I dunno, but it would definitely open up a new set of flavors one could get from the greater selection of beans to choose from.

One thing I would wonder about is the little bit of ground coffee that ends up in every cup of espresso. You would probably not want this added to the pot to simmer as a one hour long simmer might cause this bit of grinds to turn the entire batch very bitter. I would think that pouring the espresso through a coffee filter would probably solve that issue though.

But, I don't have an espresso machine, so I can't try it.