ITALIAN ESPRESSO COFFEE LIQUEUR (LIQUORE AL CAFFE’)

Espresso coffee liqueur is such an easy liqueur to make at home, the surprisingly little amount of time and effort involved is a great reason to try this recipe if you’re a coffee lover!

In Italy it is served after a meal as a digestive, offered to visitors or enjoyed as an indulgent alcoholic drink, most frequently by itself, but it’s also well suited in a cocktail.

It’s amazing how versatile it is, you can use it to flavor chocolate glazes and ganache, substitute it for other liqueurs in truffle recipes, pour it on top of ice cream, or even add it to coffee drinks for an extra kick.

There are many different ways to make espresso liqueur, or liquore al caffè , and much like other traditional Italian homemade liqueurs, the recipes vary according to who you’re asking.

Some people use liquid espresso or instant coffee in the recipe, but I’ve found using fine grounds of high quality imported Italian espresso is the best way to achieve the smoothest, deepest flavor imaginable.

Regardless of what kind of coffee you use, keep in mind that the higher quality the coffee, the better the final outcome of your espresso coffee liqueur.

The recipe below is pretty basic, you can experiment and alter it according to your tastes by adding more or less simple syrup, espresso, or perhaps even cocoa or vanilla powder.

Ingredients:
• 750 ml pure grain alcohol 150 or vodka
• 1/4 cup finely ground, high quality espresso
• 1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water

You’ll also need:
• a large, air tight glass container to keep the alcohol in
• several coffee filters to filter the liqueur
• funnel

METHOD

Put the ground espresso coffee inside the glass container and pour the alcohol over it, mix well.

Seal the container tightly and leave it to sit for at least 1 month.

After the month is over make a simple syrup by dissolving the sugar in 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan on the stove top set to low.

Once the sugar has dissolved (approximately 10 minutes) allow it to cool completely, then add it the glass container with the alcohol and coffee mixture.

Leave it to sit for at least another week.

At this point filter the liqueur into bottles by passing it through a funnel lined with a coffee filter.

To ensure the liqueur is not grainy you may need to filter it a few times through a clean coffee filter; the more you filter it, the smoother your final product will be.

Enjoy!