Kahlúa - Wikipedia

Coffee-flavoured liqueur For other uses, see Kahlua (disambiguation). Kahlúa

Type	Coffee liqueur
Manufacturer	Pernod Ricard
Origin	Mexico
Introduced	1936; 89 years ago (1936)
Alcohol by volume	20.0%
Website	www.kahlua.com

Kahlúa (Spanish: [kaˈlu.a]) is a brand of coffee liqueur owned by the Pernod Ricard company and produced in Veracruz, Mexico. The drink contains rum, sugar, and arabica coffee.

History

[edit]

Pedro Domecq began producing Kahlúa in 1936.[1] It was named Kahlúa, meaning 'House of the Acolhua people' in the Veracruz Nahuatl language. Jules Berman was the first importer of the liqueur to the United States, earning him the nickname "Mr. Kahlua".[2]

The company merged in 1994 with Allied Lyons to become Allied Domecq. In turn, that company was partially acquired in 2005 by Pernod Ricard,[1] the largest spirits distributor in the world since its merger with the Swedish Vin & Sprit in March 2008.

Since 2004, the alcohol content of Kahlúa is 20.0%; earlier versions had 26.5%.[3] In 2002, a more expensive, high-end product called "Kahlúa Especial" became available in the United States, Canada and Australia after previously being offered only in duty-free markets. Made with arabica coffee beans grown in Veracruz, Mexico,[4] 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 for the United Kingdom and Canada markets. It also reduced the alcohol content to 16% "to address 'evolving' consumer trends towards conscious drinking and lower-alcohol options".[5][6][7] For the United States market, Kahlúa retains the more traditional bottle design and alcohol content.[8]

Uses

[edit]

Kahlúa is used to make cocktails 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. According to the company, "Kahlúa contains about 100 ppm caffeine, which means about 100 mg/litre of product. So, for a standard 1.5 oz [45 ml] drink of Kahlúa there would be about 5 mg of caffeine. Just to put it in perspective, an 8 oz [240 ml] brewed coffee can contain up to about 200 mg of caffeine."[9]

Kahlúa is a key ingredient in several notable cocktails:

• Alfonso Xiii
• Espresso Martini
• White Russian
• Black Russian
• Mind Eraser
• B-52
• Baby Guinness
• Kahlúa Sour
• Moose Milk
• Spanish coffee[10]
• Dirty Mother[11]

Awards

[edit]

Kahlúa and Kahlúa Especial have received accolades from international spirit ratings organizations. The San Francisco World Spirits Competition awarded the Kahlúa Especial three silver medals between 2005 and 2007 and a bronze in 2009.[12] The Beverage Testing Institute gave the Especial a score of 85 in 2007.[12]

See also

[edit]

Media related to Kahlúa at Wikimedia Commons

• List of cocktails
• List of coffee liqueurs
• Tia Maria, a coffee liqueur

References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Kahlúa Revitalizes Iconic Packaging". Pernod Ricard USA. September 14, 2007. Archived from the original on November 2, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
2. ^ Myrna, Oliver (1998-07-22). "J. Berman; 'Mr. Kahlua' Was Developer, Donor". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
3. ^ Kahlúa ad from 1975 Archived 2010-12-01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-02-12.
4. ^ Kahlua 'Unleashes' Major Holiday Marketing Push, Including New Television and Radio Advertising Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine. Business Wire, November 10, 2003. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
5. ^ Cronin, Éilis (20 May 2021). "Kahlúa unveils new bottle design". Talking Retail. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
6. ^ "Coffee Liqueur Product Information". Pernod Ricard. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
7. ^ "Kahlúa - FAQ". Retrieved 2025-05-06.
8. ^ "Coffee Liqueur Product Information". The Kahlua Company. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
9. ^ "FAQ". Kahlúa. Archived from the original on 2021-03-07. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
10. ^ "Spanish Coffee". Imbibe. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
11. ^ "Dirty Mother". Archived from the original on 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
12. ^ a b "Summary of Kahlúa Especial awards". Proof66.com. Retrieved 2010-10-21.[permanent dead link]

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