Monday, April 13, 2015

Special Kahlua Cocktails

By Tom Ferrel


Kahlua is a liqueur flavored with coffee, with rum as a the base. Kahlua drinks usually include ingredients like vanilla bean flavoring, sugar, and corn syrup. Historically, the drink was produced in 1936 and has grown to become Pernod Recard, the globe's largest alcoholic beverage distributor.

Prior to 1994, some Kahlua drinks had a 26.5 percent alcohol content, although since then 20 percent has been the norm. However, a 36 percent alcohol content drink was produced and available in liquor stores in the US, Canada and Australia in 2002. Kahlua Especial, as the drink was known, was less viscous and less sweet than the standard Kahlua and was produced from Arabica beans and grown in Veracruz, Mexico.

Milk, coffee, cocoa and cream are typical ingredients of Kahlua mixed drinks. Kahlua contains about a quarter of the caffeine found in coffee, around 10 mg per 100 ml. Kahlua flavored chocolates are sold in Mexico, along with chocolate cups looking like shot glasses, to serve them in.

The season for harvesting the coffee beans and sugarcane is from October to March, and once harvested the husk, or dry papery exterior is removed. The distinctive flavor of the coffee comes from it aging in 50 burlap bags until they are ready to be processed. Yeast and water are combined for fermentation, after the stalks have been ground down and the juices boiled until they become molasses. The sugar is converted into alcohol until the desired proof level reached, after the spirit has been distilled; the resulting mixture is stored in large barrels.

Once the Kahlua is ready to use there are several ways to use it. You can add it as a topping for a desert, add it cakes or creme brulees to give it that special taste. There are also drinks that use Kahlua as one of the main ingredients. Kahlua drinks include the Mudslide, the Black Russian and the White Russian. And it gives a cup of coffee a great taste when a little bit is added to it.

When the sugar cane is harvested, the stalks are ground and the juice is extracted through boiling. This renders a substance known as molasses. Water and yeast are added to begin the fermentation process. The liquid is distilled when the sugar has converted to alcohol. This is a similar process to making other spirits. When the right level of alcohol, or proof, is attained, the substance is then stored in round barrels.

Typically, Kahlua is left to age in the barrels for two months, before being bottled, filtered, and packaged for resale. Several flavors of the liqueur are available in liquor stores and on grocery store shelves. Hazelnut, peppermint mocha, French vanilla, Especial, Standard, Mocha, and ready to serve are the varieties we can expect to see in stores. The flavored varieties can contain up to twice as many calories as the Especial and Standard versions, which have about 53 calories per one ounce serving.

Kahlua drinks have won various awards over the years, although many people will tell you they taste good anyway. The San Francisco based World Spirits completion awarded the brand three silver medals between 2005 and 2007, and a bronze medal in 2009. The Institute for Beverage Testing awarded the Especial an 85 score, in 2007.




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