Kahlúa

Rating: 10/23 I didn't expect to be writing more about this so soon, but I'm really trying to nail down ratings for Kahlúa Especial and the ~30 year old bottle of Kahlúa that I found at my parents' house. N: Sweet, roasted, spicy. There's a little bit of rum toffee and funk as well. The roasted spices are actually really nice though, like smelling some nicely roasted arabica coffee beans. P: It's a chocolatey coffee flavor that is quite sweet, has hints of rum, and is plagued by this rough, confectioner's sugar chalkiness. It actually tastes OK, but that chalkiness is pretty unpleasant. F: There's definitely some of that chalky, rough sweetness sticking around. There's some spiciness left and a tad of roasted flavor, along with a hint of rum, but mostly it's just sweet chalkiness. This would be a lot better if they'd just cut back the sugar and cranked up the coffee a bit. It's actually pretty good mixed with Appleton Estate 12 in a 1:1 ratio because the mature, bitter rum flavor is very well balanced with the coffee, chocolate, and sweetness. Adding more alcohol helps to hide the chalkiness and makes this a lot more drinkable. Using vodka instead, the coffee shows through more, but it does taste watered down. Still, the chalkiness is diminished substantially at a 1:1 ratio and is even less apparent at 1:2. If just a dash of coffee liqueur is needed, I wouldn't worry about using this because of the confectioner's sugar element, but I would be hesitant because of its general sweetness. For something like a tiramisu, this should be totally fine. Although this has issues with its sugar, it at least generally tastes like sweetened dark roast coffee. That isn't true of Kahlúa Especial. The allegedly more premium line of Kahlúa trades a huge reduction in the rough sugar for a big increase in rum flavor. I could see why this might be considered an improvement if the rum were good, but unfortunately, it isn't. The rum has the rough youthfulness of Plantation Xaymaca without the intriguing complexity - and it's a poor match for a coffee liqueur either way. Whereas regular Kahlúa tastes like coffee augmented with rum (and way too much sugar for sipping), Kahlúa Especial tastes like (bad) rum augmented with coffee liqueur. In comparing the two, what it comes down to for me is that one tastes enough like coffee that I can fairly easily use it as a coffee liqueur, whereas the other tastes more like cheap, young rum. For this reason, I have to rate regular Kahlúa above Kahlúa Especial. Neither, however, is at all on the same level as that ancient bottle I unearthed at my parents' house. That bottle is more complex and less aggressively sweet than a modern bottle of regular Kahlúa (due to a combination of age and a higher ABV, I imagine). It still has some of that rough chalkiness, but it isn't nearly as bad as in regular Kahlúa and I can forgive it to a fair extent because of its better flavor. The old Kahlúa tastes more like light or medium roast coffee and it has this syrupy richness that is sweet, astringent, and bitter in a way that reminds me of Kavalan Soloist Port. I wouldn't call it a really excellent bottle and it doesn't really taste as much like coffee as regular Kahlúa does, but it's the only Kahlúa that I feel like I could sip on a cool winter evening. OK, so the summary here is this: ~ 30 year old Kahlúa >> regular Kahlúa > Kahlúa Especial I think I'll be going with a 10 for this, but I can imagine dropping it to a 9 or raising it to an 11. That chalkiness is a real problem, so it won't be getting a 12, but it is still sweet enough to use in certain applications, but I have to imagine that I can buy better coffee liqueur from another producer. Kahlúa Especial is at least a point behind it because it is harder to find an application for since the low quality rum flavor shows through so strongly. It could be 2 points behind, so expect a 7 to 9 for that one. The excavated bottle is more like a 16, though it might be less generally useful as a coffee liqueur given its strange flavor and subtlety.

Rating liqueurs can be tricky business. Am I just rating how it tastes neat or how well it works in different cocktails? It's never an easy call. Certainly Kahlua plays an important role as a major ingredient in classic White and Black Russians. It's ubiquitous nature also makes it an immediate stand in for any recipe calling for coffee liqueur. It's easy to see why it's so popular as well. The nose is enticingly sweet without sacrificing a real roasted coffee flavor. It even has a bit of lingering spices, cinnamon being the most prominent with hints of caramel & vanilla. It's not a deep aroma but it doesn't have to be when it's so pleasant. Taste wise it begins almost like chocolate milk before the Arabica coffee hits your palate mingling with this nice toffee taste. The coffee is, not unsurprisingly, the main show runner and as the mid palate develops you get a flurry of brief, sweet tastes. Toffee, sugary vanilla, caramel syrup. It brings to mind the sensation of drinking melted coffee & vanilla ice cream that had been topped with milk chocolate syrup. Towards the back of the mid palate out to the finish you get a nice rum sensation providing some needed robustness to the experience. Not much to the finish either. It's rum, coffee bitterness, and overpowering caramel and vanilla sweetness from the additives. My main gripe with Kahlua is actually how unnecessarily sweet it feels. They can cut down on the sugar & additives and still have a great, versatile product. It's not impossible to drink on its own but aside from a sugar rush and some pleasant coffee notes, it just doesn't have much to offer. Do you really want to drink coffee syrup by itself? It's not so bad if you dilute it with some ice and when mixing I suggest you start off light lest the brazen sugar overtake the other ingredients. Its not a bad product, but one which could use some refinement.

Rating: 9/23 N: Nice and rich with a spicy, roasty note that suggests chocolate and coffee. A clear step up from some of the off-brand coffee liquors, but not a massive leap. It smells sweet but not too sweet and crucially smells entirely natural. There's some funk going on here with vegetal notes from the rum, but there are some sulfur notes in here as well. I smell a bit of mineral that I suspect is the confectioner's sugar. P: OK, it tastes quite sweet, then some milk chocolate comes in, then in morphs into semi-sweet chocolate, then into coffee. Then, it doesn't become all that complex, but some spiciness comes out and the balance is maintained. The only real problem here is that the confectioner's sugar comes out and the coffee is still kind of mild. Aside from that, it's a rich and balanced palate. It's sweet, but not as sweet as some of the off-brand ones. I do get decent complexity out of it. The confectioner's sugar and high presence of chocolate relative to coffee are both problems, with the former making it seem lighter and cooler than it could otherwise have been. F: The confectioner's sugar chalkiness is strong and it lingers along with a slight unpleasant cola flavor. The chocolate and coffee hang out for a while as well, but these flaws really jump out because they become more pronounced and even are joined by a hint of an artificial note. Still, this is better than the generic brands, so I am torn between 9 and 10. Ultimately, it is too sweet with too much confectioner's sugar, so I think a 9 is most appropriate.

Appearance: Walnut brown, almost black, with no cloudiness. Translucent, but very dark. Aroma: A mild but rounded aroma similar to that of a cup of sweet black instant coffee with a drop of rum. Palate and Texture: Very sweet but surprisingly lacking in coffee flavour. There is coffee, of course, but the sweetness and syrupy texture is so prominent it dominates, so you notice coffee more in the aftertaste. The profile is simple and shallow: coffee, but with little nuance. It tastes more like it is based on coffee & chicory essence than crafted from coffee beans. The texture is thick, satiny and either cloying or the best thing about it, depending on your preference. Back in the day there were not very many coffee liqueurs and, along with Tia Maria, Kahlúa was a popular standard. Nowadays, however, these old-school sweet coffee liqueurs have been eclipsed by artisan semi-sweet cold-brew liqueurs (such as Mr Black) that have a significantly greater and more complex coffee presence which makes them superior as both neat liqueurs or cocktail ingredients. "Adequate" : 71/100 (2 stars)

You’re drunk but happy, rolling down the back seat window of a vintage car. Feeling the cool rush of the Mexico City night air hit your face, your new friends singing along to La negra Tomasa on the radio. Suddenly, the car stops. You’re outside a huge cliff, centered within its face, a cave. Dark but for the flickering lights further in. Inside, a colorful group is dancing to a small but enthusiastic band. A stone cup is thrust into your hands containing a dark liquid. You’re not sure, but your friends nod reassuringly. Taking a deep breath, you close your eyes and sip. A intense flavor of coffee hits your tongue, paired with a calming sweetness, and just a hint of spice. When you open your eyes, a huge smile slowly comes across your friend’s face. They reach out their hand to you grab it. Together you both disappear into the crowd.

Initially, this is quite tasty and for baking I would recommend it without hesitation. For drinking, there is a strong taste is confectioner's sugar in here that may pose a problem. Aside from that, it tastes like nondescript coffee (perhaps a bit better than be Fulger's) and vodka. A lot of people recommend Patron cafe, but let's be real here: Patron is overrated just like Kahlua. Maybe there is a better option for drinks or maybe you can drown out the confectioner's sugar.