Caroline Cogswell's Celebrated Morning Tonic (A Coffee Liqueur)

"Caroline's is a spiced coffee liqueur that I've named after a very patient and long-suffering lady who probably could have used a morning tonic like this to jump-start her days. I make it almost every year to give as a holiday gift. If you want to know the story behind the name, you can find it at http://www.casagordita.com/caroline.htm."
 
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Ready In:
725880hrs
Ingredients:
9
Yields:
4 cups
Serves:
32
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ingredients

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directions

  • Make simple syrup by heating sugar and water in a heavy saucepan, stirring to mix. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes.
  • Add instant coffee and spices and remove from heat. Cool.
  • Add rum and brandy and pour into a glass or ceramic container (not metal or plastic). Cap tightly or cover tightly with plastic wrap.
  • If you're multiplying the recipe, you will still want to steep it in containers no bigger than about a quart, dividing the spices up between them. The flavor doesn't seem to develop as well in bigger containers. I've bought a box of quart canning jars that I re-use every year.
  • Steep for three weeks in a cool, dark place, shaking or swirling around in the container every two or three days.
  • Strain out the spices and discard.
  • Line a funnel, a sieve or a coffee cone with a dampened coffee filter and pour the liqueur through. Change the filter regularly. This is a SLOW process!
  • When I make this for holiday gifts, I make such a quantity--seven or eight times this recipe--I'd get old and gray waiting for it to filter this way. So I invested around $20 in a gold-plated permanent coffee filter (look for them in a good kitchen shop). It's much faster and the results are a tiny bit more cloudy, but they taste just fine!
  • After filtering, cover tightly and age another three or four weeks (or more--the longer it ages, the better it gets).
  • Bottle your creation, decorate as desired and enjoy!

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I live with my husband near Seattle. I'm a college administrator, a Mac geek, a Deadhead, and a fat activist. I love to mess around (and make a mess) in the kitchen--there isn't much that I don't like to cook. My pie crust is getting almost as good as my mother's, and that's saying something! <img src="http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z265/marymcg/RegSwap1.jpg" border="0" alt="Summer 2007 Regional Swap"> <img src="http://www.caymandesigns.com/foodothers/fallswap.jpg" border="0" alt="2007 Fall and Halloween Swap"> <a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"> <img src="http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w115/bugh8er/food%20and%20swaps/4811_36055_t.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/Birthday%20and%20Celebration%20Images/Calendargirls2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg271/MrsTeny/Permanent%20Collection/PACSpring09Participation.jpg"> <img src="http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg271/MrsTeny/Permanent%20Collection/PACSpring09Iwasadopted.jpg"> <img src="http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w115/bugh8er/Halloween/4811_180759.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
 
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