Kahlúa () is a brand of

coffee liqueur Liqueurs are alcoholic beverages that are bottled with added sugar and have added flavours that are usually derived from fruits, herbs, or nuts. Liqueurs are distinct from eaux-de-vie, fruit brandy, and flavored liquors, which contain no add ...

owned by the Pernod Ricard company and produced in

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The drink contains

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

, sugar, and

arabica coffee ''Coffea arabica'' (), also known as the Arabic coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee and madder family Rubiaceae. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated and is currently the dominant cultivar, r ...

History

Pedro Domecq Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

began producing Kahlúa in 1936. It was named Kahlúa, meaning "House of the Acolhua people" in the

Nahuatl language.

Jules Berman Jules Berman (c. 1911 – July 18, 1998) was a liquor importer, southern California real estate developer and Pre-Columbian art collector known as "Mr Kahlua". Business career in 1962 Berman became the first importer of the liquor Kahlua to the ...

was the first importer of the liqueur to the United States, earning him the nickname "Mr. Kahlua". The company merged in 1994 with

Allied Lyons Allied Domecq PLC was an international company, headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, that operated spirits, wine, and quick service restaurant businesses. It was once a FTSE 100 Index constituent but has been acquired by Pernod Ricard. The ...

to become Allied Domecq. In turn, that company was partially acquired in 2005 by Pernod Ricard, the largest spirits distributor in the world since its merger with the Swedish Vin & Sprit in March 2008. Since 2004, the

alcohol content Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

of Kahlúa is 20.0%; earlier versions had 26.5%. In 2002, a more expensive, high-end product called "Kahlúa Especial" became available in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and Australia after previously being offered only in

duty-free A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, w ...

markets. Made with arabica coffee beans grown in

, Kahlúa Especial has an alcohol content of 36%, has a lower viscosity, and is less sweet than the regular version. In 2021 Kahlúa introduced a new bottle design. It also reduced the alcohol content to 16% "to address 'evolving' consumer trends towards conscious drinking and lower-alcohol options."

Uses

Kahlúa is used to make

cocktails A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...

or drink neat or on ice. Some people use it when baking desserts, and/or as a topping for ice cream, cakes, and cheesecakes. It is mixed in several ways, often with different combinations of milk, cream, coffee and cocoa. Because Kahlúa is made from coffee beans, it contains

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine to ...

. According to the company, "Kahlúa contains about 100 ppm caffeine, which means about 100mg/litre of product. So, for a standard 1.5oz 5mldrink of Kahlúa there would be about 5mg of caffeine. Just to put it in perspective, an 8oz 40mlbrewed coffee can contain up to about 200mg of caffeine." Kahlúa is a key ingredient in several notable cocktails: *Alfonso Xiii * Espresso Martini * White Russian * Black Russian *Mind Eraser *

B-52 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

* Baby Guinness *

Brave Bull Duos and trios are a family of mixed drinks. A duo contains a spirit and a liqueur; a trio additionally contains a creamy ingredient, commonly cream or Irish cream. This family of drinks is named in Gary Regan's ''The Joy of Mixology''. Ther ...

* Colorado Bulldog * Dirty Mother *Kahlúa Sour * Moose Milk * Mudslide * Spanish coffee

Awards

Kahlúa and Kahlúa Especial have received accolades from international

spirit ratings With a growing number of offerings, such as those produced by an increasing number of microdistilleries, various mechanisms have arisen to provide reviews and opinions of individual varieties of spirits. These events generally use expert panels ...

organizations. The

San Francisco World Spirits Competition The San Francisco World Spirits Competition was founded in 2001 by Anthony Dias Blue as an off-shoot of the San Francisco International Wine Competition. It assesses hundreds of entrants annually (1,407 in 2013 from 63 countries) with tastings inv ...

awarded the Kahlúa Especial three silver medals between 2005 and 2007 and a bronze in 2009. The

Beverage Testing Institute The Beverage Testing Institute (BTI) is a marketing service company that provides reviews for spirits, wines, and beers. It uses numerical scores and publishes books of its test results. The company's beer marketing program, the World Beer Champio ...

gave the Especial a score of 85 in 2007.

References

External links

Official product website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahlua Coffee liqueurs Mexican alcoholic drinks Mexican brands Pernod Ricard brands Products introduced in 1936 Alcoholic drink brands

History

Uses

Awards

See also

References

External links