Kahlua Day

What the day is

Kahlua Day is observed on February 27. It marks the coffee liqueur made in Veracruz, Mexico, from arabica coffee, rum and sugar, and by extension the category of coffee liqueurs generally.

The brand dates to the 1930s and has been produced in Mexico since, passing through several corporate owners. Veracruz is a long-established coffee-growing region, which is why the product is from there rather than anywhere else.

Origin and background

The origin of the observance is not documented.

What makes coffee liqueur useful behind a bar is that it does two jobs at once. It contributes coffee flavor and it contributes sugar, which means a drink built on it needs no separate syrup. That is why it appears in so many simple three-ingredient cocktails.

The best known is the White Russian: vodka, coffee liqueur and cream. Its Black Russian ancestor is the same drink without the cream, and the mudslide adds Irish cream to the pile. The espresso martini, invented in London in the 1980s, uses vodka, fresh espresso and coffee liqueur, and it is the one drink in the family where the liqueur is a supporting ingredient rather than the point.

Storage is worth a note, because coffee liqueur is not a spirit in the durable sense. It contains sugar and coffee, both of which degrade, and an old bottle at the back of a cupboard will taste dull and flat rather than dangerous. Once opened it is best used within a year or so, and refrigeration helps.

How to take part

• Make an espresso martini with genuinely fresh espresso. The foam on top comes from crema and hard shaking, not from any other ingredient.
• Shake it hard and for longer than feels necessary, which is what produces the texture.
• Pour a little over vanilla ice cream, which is the simplest use and one of the best.
• Add a spoonful to a chocolate cake batter or a tiramisu soak.
• Try a different coffee liqueur alongside it. Several smaller producers make drier, less sweet versions worth knowing.