Two bottles of homemade kahlua on a kitchen counter surrounded by coffee beans.

A few years ago, we decided to focus on handmade holiday gifts for all of our family members. It’s been fun to make the gifts and everyone on our lists has had so much fun trying to guess what we’re going to make next!

Last year, we gave all the grown-ups on our Christmas list bottles of our homemade kahlúa—AKA: coffee liqueur—and it was a HIT! The best part? No one knew that we made all the bottles in less than 30 minutes. Let us show you how to make the best holiday gifts ever.

A hand holds a glass bottle filled with homemade coffee liqueur.

What is kahlua?

Kahula is a sweet coffee liqueur. And it is so easy to make! If you can make a cup of strong coffee and stir, you can make coffee liqueur at home. Because you are in control, you can completely customize your homemade kahlúa to your tastes. More or less sugar, decaf or caf, bold roast or light roast, high alcohol or light—it’s all up to you!

Overhead of a bottle of handmade coffee liqueur lying next to a mixed white russian cocktail.

What liquor do you use to make homemade kahlua?

Ideally, you’ll want to use grain alcohol (usually known as Everclear)—it is almost pure alcohol, so it has the cleanest flavor. That means you can let the coffee flavor shine on through.

Always treat Everclear as an unfinished ingredient—never, ever drink it undiluted. 189 or 190 proof is best, but if you can’t find that, it may be that only the less-potent 151 or 120 proof varieties are legal in your state.

Wholefully Protip

You can figure out if you can get Everclear near you using this product locator.

In some states, Everclear isn’t legal at all. In that case, you can use a strong vodka, but your final kahlua will not be nearly as strong.

A wooden stirring stick mixes together cream and coffee liqueur into a white russian.

How strong is kahlua?

How much alcohol is in each serving of your coffee liqueur depends on what proof alcohol you mix in. While we can’t give you the exact percentage of alcohol of your kahlúa, we can give you some ballpark estimates:

Alcohol Used Estimated Final ABV
Everclear 190 proof 20%
Everclear 151 proof 14%
Everclear 120 proof 11%
Vodka 80 proof 7%

Does kahlua have caffeine?

Yep! But if that’s a concern for you, you can make it decaf. Just brew up some decaf coffee, and use that to make your kahlúa.

Two glass bottles of homemade Kahlua stand side-by-side surrounded by coffee beans.

Okay, tell me how to make homemade kahlua!

Gather up some coffee, Everclear, brown sugar, and vanilla. And here we go!

  1. Brew up 12 cups of strong coffee. I like to use a dark roast to get the strongest flavor, but you choose your favorite.
  2. Warm the coffee with the brown sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.
  3. Stir in the vanilla extract and grain alcohol.
  4. Pour into bottles, label, and store!

Wholefully Protip

We made free labels you can download and print for easy labeling! Download them here, and print them on the water-resistant round labels (Avery 22856).

Can you drink kahlua straight?

You sure can! There is nearly four times as much coffee as Everclear in this kahlúa, plus a generous amount of brown sugar and vanilla extract, so it is plenty diluted and sweetened to be enjoyable on its own.

What can I mix with coffee liqueur?

The classic way to drink kahlua is in a white Russian—that’s a combo of cream, vodka, and kahlua! You can also use it to spike your coffee or hot chocolate.

A bottle of homemade coffee liqueur stands next to a mixed white russian cocktail.

Does homemade kahlúa need to be refrigerated?

If you’re using 190 proof grain alcohol, it doesn’t have to be refrigerated to keep, because, with an alcohol content of 20%, it inhibits microbial growth pretty darn well. If you are using any other kind of alcohol to make this, please keep it in the fridge. In fact, since you use kahlua cold in a lot of drinks, it’s a great place to store it.

Does kahlua go bad?

If you used 190 proof grain alcohol, not really. The alcohol and sugar are both excellent preservatives. If you used one of the lower-percentage alcohols, we recommend stashing it in the fridge and enjoying it within a few months. If you’re short on space or packing it up as a gift, it will be fine at room temperature for a few days.

Looking for more creative gift ideas?

  • 45+ DIY Food Gifts. We have homemade edible gift ideas to fit everyone’s preferences! Giving the gift of something delicious is always a smart call.
  • 37+ Gifts for Coffee Lovers. From affordable stocking stuffers, all the way up to fancy coffee equipment, we have all the ideas you need for the java fans on your list!
Two bottles of homemade kahlua on a kitchen counter surrounded by coffee beans.

Homemade Coffee Liqueur Recipe (AKA: Kahlúa)

Yield: 19 cups
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

You'll be blown away by just how easy it is to make kahlúa at home! Follow this tutorial and you'll have homemade coffee liqueur in less than half an hour.

Ingredients

  • 12 cups strong, dark brewed coffee
  • 2 pounds light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup vanilla extract
  • 750ml Everclear 190/189 Proof grain alcohol (preferable) or Everclear 151, Everclear 120, see post for more information

Instructions

  1. Pour the coffee into a large soup pot, add in the brown sugar, and heat over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
  2. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
  3. Add in the vanilla and the grain alcohol. Pour into glass bottles, label, and store in a cool, dark place.

Notes

  • You want a very strong cup of coffee here! I recommend going with a dark roast and brewing it stronger than you would normally drink it.
  • We made free labels you can download and print for easy labeling! Download them here, and print them on water-resistant round labels (Avery 22856).

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 76 Serving Size: 2 oz.
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 48Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 4mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 12gProtein: 0g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

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40 Comments

      1. After bottling, how long should you wait before drinking the Kahlua? Doesn’t it need to rest for a few weeks, or good to drink right away??
        Thank you so much!

        1. Hi Patricia! That’s one of the best parts about homemade Kahlua (besides how easy it is to make and how delicious it is)—it’s ready to drink immediately! We hope you and your lucky giftees love it!

    1. Hi Eric! Yes, you can sub vodka if you can’t get or don’t want to use Everclear. Here’s what we say in the post, “You can use a strong vodka, but your final kahlua will not be nearly as strong.” There’s also info in the post about an estimated final ABV depending on what you use. An 80 proof vodka will be roughly 7% ABV. I hope this helps!

    1. Hi Laura! That’s the best part about this recipe (besides how much everyone loves it, of course)—there’s no need to let it sit. It’s ready to go as soon as you bottle it!

    1. Hi Danielle! The exact alcohol percentage will depend on what proof of alcohol you’re using. But if you make a half-batch and keep the ratio of ingredients the same, then whatever percentage you start with should be the same in the half-batch, too!

  1. 1 bottle 190 everclear (1000ml) + 5 cups of water = 80 proof, so can I use 5 cups of brewed coffee with 1000 ml of everclear and get an end result of 80 proof instead of 20?

    1. Hi Carol! 5 cups of coffee for 1000ml of Everclear is way too little in terms of safety and flavor! It will turn out too strong to drink and won’t taste like coffee liqueur. Our recipe calls for 750ml + 12 cups of coffee for an end result of 20% alcohol (or 40 proof) – not 20 proof. I recommend making the recipe as written first and seeing how you like it. If, after that, you’re still interested in making adjustments, we’re happy to help!

  2. I know you mentioned that if you use Everclear 190 proof you dont need to store in fridge. What if I used Everclear 151 proof? Can I still leave it out or I would need to store in fridge?

    1. Hi Ariel! We recommend keeping it in the fridge if you use anything other than Everclear 190 proof—even Everclear 151 proof. Truthfully, though, we keep all of ours in the fridge no matter which alcohol we use. Most drinks made with coffee liqueur are chilled anyway so it’s a great place to store it. If you’re thinking of packing bottles for gifting, they’ll be fine at room temperature for a few days. Just let your giftees know to stash it in the fridge as soon as possible!

    1. Hi April! Here’s what we say about keeping this in the fridge in the post: “If you’re using 190 proof grain alcohol, it doesn’t have to be refrigerated to keep, because, with an alcohol content of 20%, it inhibits microbial growth pretty darn well. If you are using any other kind of alcohol to make this, please keep it in the fridge. In fact, since you use kahlua cold in a lot of drinks, it’s a great place to store it.”

      We usually keep ours in the fridge regardless of which alcohol we use! If you’re thinking of packing it up for gifts, it will be fine at room temperature for a few days. Just tell your lucky giftees to store it in the fridge as soon as possible. Hope this helps! =)