DIY Coffee Liqueur Recipe

DIY coffee liqueur tastes like like a fresh cup of coffee with added depth from rum and just enough sugar to make it great for sipping or mixing—or baking and dessert garnishing. The quick steeping time means no patience is required.

Notes: When hot coffee cools down, it loses some of its good qualities. Cold brewing the coffee keeps bitter and overly acidic flavors from taking over. Turbinado sugar is also known as raw sugar, and is available at most grocery stores. You can substitute other types of sugar if desired.

DIY vs. Buy: Should I Make My Own Coffee Liqueur?

Active: 10 mins

Total: 96 hrs

Serves: 48 tablespoons

Makes: 3 cups

Rate & Comment

1/4 cup fine ground espresso
2 1/4 cup water (divided)
1 cup turbinado sugar
1 vanilla bean
1 1/2 cups light rum

Cold brew the coffee by combining the grounds and 1 1/4 cups of the water into a sealable glass jar, shaking it, then refrigerating the mixture for 12 hours. Strain through a coffee filter into another sealable glass jar.

Liz Clayman
Combine the sugar and 1 cup of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let this syrup cool to room temperature.

Liz Clayman
Add cooled syrup, vanilla bean, and rum to the glass jar that contains the coffee. Let that mixture steep for 3 days, then remove the vanilla bean and bottle the liqueur.

Liz Clayman

Special equipment

coffee filter

This Recipe Appears In

DIY vs. Buy: Should I Make My Own Coffee Liqueur?

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
30	Calories
0g	Fat
4g	Carbs
0g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 48
Amount per serving
Calories	30
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 1mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 4g	2%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 1mg	0%
Iron 0mg	0%
Potassium 5mg	0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.