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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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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