Spirited Virginia Q1 2022 - 35

If you love coffee, then you'll love Kahlua. This 40-proof,
coffee-flavored liqueur is 85 years old. Made with 100%
Arabica coffee beans and rum, Kahlua was created by Pedro
Domecq in 1936 in the Mexican port city of Veracruz.
I
t does contain coffee, but the drink only
has a quarter of the caffeine that's in a
standard cup of coffee with the same
volume. Kahlua is a very flexible beverage
that can be enjoyed as a shot, on the rocks,
with coffee, over ice cream, baked into
desserts or in your favorite cocktail. In fact,
it's the basis for many classic highballs,
including the White Russian, Black Russian,
B-52, Mudslide and the currently trending
Espresso Martini.
Kahlua is the top selling coffee flavored
liqueur in the world. According to The Spirits
Business, it was also the fifth best-selling
liqueur overall, for 2018 and 2019, with 1.6
million cases of the product sold during both
years.
Virginia ABC carries eight Kahlua products
TE
By Andrew Madigan
ranging from 50ml to 1.5L in size and
including two additional flavors-
blond and chili chocolate. During
2020, Virginians purchased
255,275 bottles or $4.7 million
of the popular coffee-flavored
liqueur. Sales trends for 2021 are
expected to match these figures.
Kahlua is so popular today
that it even has its own
holiday. National Kahlua Day
is celebrated on February
27th of each year. Great
ways to observe the
occasion include buying a
bottle, having a drink of
Kahlua, or baking a cake
with it.
" Kah-lua " means " heart
of the Veracruz people "
in Nahuatl, the ancient
language of the Aztecs
and, fittingly, the world
has taken the beverage to
its heart.
Of course, Kahlua is
just one among many
fine coffee flavored drinks. Its cousin spirits
include Tia Maria, Copa De Oro, Kamora
Coffee, Grind Espresso Shot, Patron XO Café
and Vitae Spirits Coffee Liqueur, to name a
few.
Beverages that incorporate both alcohol
and coffee or coffee flavoring are very
popular right now, and this trend is expected
to continue. According to the consulting
company MyDrink Beverages, the market
value of coffee worldwide is expected to rise
by 5.5% through 2023, and alcoholic drink
manufacturers are busy finding new ways to
get in on the action.
Stephen Robertson, who works for
Blanchard's Coffee Roasting Co. in Richmond,
is a licensed Arabica Q Grader, comparable
to a sommelier for wine. He says Blanchard's
jumped into combining high-quality spirits
with high-quality coffee early on.
" We partnered with Belle Isle Craft Spirits
to create a Cold Brew Moonshine that is sold
now throughout the U.S., " he says.
While coffee cocktails have been around
for a long time, many of the early offerings
were less original than the coffee versions of
today: boozy milkshakes, mocha martinis,
and other sweet, dessert-friendly standards.
Robertson's favorite coffee cocktails involve
pairing coffee flavors with fruit flavors,
including the Coffee Gin & Tonic, which is " a
bright, acidic coffee such as something from
Ethiopia or Kenya poured over a G & T made
with barrel-aged gin and finished with an
orange zest. "
Another favorite is Blackberry Coffee
Campari. To make this highball, fresh
blackberries are muddled with honey,
Campari and cold brew coffee. The drink is
served over ice and topped off with club soda.
So, go ahead and enjoy some Kahlua or a
comparable coffee flavored liqueur, on its own
or in a mixed drink. We think you deserve it,
and Virginia ABC has many varieties from
which to choose.
SPIRITED VIRGINIA | JANUARY | FEBRUARY | MARCH 2022 35
Spirited Virginia Q1 2022

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