"coffee liqueur" news and stories

It's likely that the brand to pop to mind when talking coffee and liquor is Kahlúa, a Mexican coffee-flavored liqueur that's been around since 1936. Kahlúa's so popular that the name often gets used like Coke, Kleenex and Band-Aid to refer to similar products made by other companies. Some home enthusiasts also post recipes online for "homemade Kahlúa" instead of just saying "homemade coffee liqueur."

Besides the typical suggestion of pouring coffee liqueur over ice cream (isn't everything good on ice cream?), several cocktails call for java spirits, including the White Russian (2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce of coffee liqueur, 1 ounce of cream shaken and served on the rocks). London's legendary barman Dick Bradsell brought us the espresso martini (aka the Pharmaceutical Stimulant or Vodka Espresso) made with coffee, coffee liqueur, vodka, and simple syrup shaken and served up in a cocktail glass.

Then, of course, you can always throw some coffee liqueur into your favorite dessert recipes such as cakes and brownies. The magical combination of chocolate and coffee is hard to resist.

We're not being coy. "Bailey's with a Hint of Coffee" really is the name of the new Bailey's flavor.

So. It's sort of like an Irish Coffee (if by Irish Coffee you mean coffee and Bailey's, not coffee and whiskey), but way easy on the coffee. And no heat.

You could add this to coffee...but then why not just use regular Bailey's? You could drink it over ice, but honestly, coffee-flavor is not what we want from Bailey's. The Mint flavor? Yeah. The Caramel Creme? Delicious. Coffee? We'll take Tia Maria over this any day--or better yet, Patron XO, the tequila-coffee liqueur.

Our verdict? Bailey's with a Hint of Coffee is unnecessary. Inoffensive, but unnecessary. It's getting cold out there, and Bailey's is best neat, over ice, or in your hot coffee.