Coffee liqueur

Coffee liqueur falls under category 33, liqueur, of EU Regulation 2019/787. A liqueur is a sweetened spirit drink based on agricultural alcohol, a distillate or another spirit drink, with added flavourings. Most liqueurs must contain at least 100 grams of sugar per litre and have an alcohol content of at least 15 percent.

The regulation has no category of its own for coffee. The word liqueur may, however, be supplemented with the name of the raw material that gives the predominant flavour, provided that flavour really comes from that raw material. Other aromas may only reinforce that flavour. That is why a bottle may be called coffee liqueur.

The basis is always coffee, alcohol and sugar. How the coffee gets into the alcohol differs from maker to maker. By its own account, Bols uses percolated coffee, supplemented with cocoa beans and vanilla, and ends up at 24 percent alcohol. Galliano Ristretto is a blend of 55 percent arabica and 45 percent robusta, with brandy in the list of ingredients.

The alcohol base varies as well. Chouffe Coffee from the Belgian Ardennes is made with a distillate of La Chouffe beer and has 20 percent alcohol. Bebo from Cuba uses arabica from the Sierra Maestra and says it adds no caramel or artificial colouring. There are also versions based on tequila or vodka.

Coffee liqueur is a fixed building block in coffee cocktails. Bols explicitly names its coffee liqueur as the base for the Espresso Martini. In addition, the maker names the White Russian and the Carajillo as cocktails for which the liqueur is intended. Licor 43 in turn promotes the Carajillo 43, with 5 centilitres of coffee.

When choosing a bottle for cocktails, the label helps. The alcohol content of coffee liqueurs ranges from 20 percent, as with Chouffe Coffee, to 24 percent for Bols Coffee and Bebo. The ingredient list shows whether there is brandy, beer distillate, tequila or another base in it, and whether colouring has been added.

No. Licor 43 is a Spanish liqueur from Cartagena, made by the Zamora family to a recipe of 43 ingredients. The producer describes citrus fruits from the Mediterranean, vanilla and coriander as characteristic notes. Licor 43 Original has 31 percent alcohol and contains no coffee as its main flavour.

The confusion comes from how it is used. The producer mentions mixing with coffee or milk and promotes the Carajillo 43, in which the liqueur is poured into an espresso. That is how the search term coffee liqueur 43 arises. Licor 43 is therefore a liqueur to go with coffee, but not a coffee liqueur.

Liqueur with coffee means a small glass of liqueur poured beside or into the coffee after the meal. It does not have to be a coffee liqueur: a liqueur such as Licor 43 is drunk this way too. A coffee liqueur does fit directly with that habit, because the flavour of the liqueur and that of the cup share the same raw material.

Anyone looking for alcohol-free coffee liqueur should know that, under European rules, such a drink is not a liqueur, because a liqueur must contain at least 15 percent alcohol. Alcohol-free coffee-flavoured alternatives therefore fall outside category 33. Feel free to ask in the shop what is currently available.

The coffee liqueur in the shop comes from eight countries, with the Netherlands and Italy as the largest origins. Carrying the name of the village, the Battumse Koffie-Mokka Likeur is on the shelf, also as a miniature and as a gift with shot glasses. Also on the shelf are Santa Maria al Monte, Hertog Jan Smokkelkoffie, Kalkwijck, IJsvogel Tante Jet and Bols Coffee.

Imports include Galliano Ristretto from Italy, Bebo Cuban Coffee Liqueur from Cuba, Chouffe Coffee from Belgium and Cazcabel Tequila Coffee Liqueur from Mexico. Au Vodka Double Espresso from England is on the shelf too. Not sure which bottle suits a cocktail or after dinner? Call the shop or drop by at Brink 2 in Bathmen.

The shop is at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Open Tuesday to Friday from 09.00 to 18.00 and Saturday from 09.00 to 17.00. For advice, call 0570 541 278 or email info@bockje.nl.