Interesting Facts About Kahlua LiqueurI

Kahlua is one of the liqueurs on the market that sometimes gets underappreciated. It’s a great drink to enjoy by itself but also a perfect component of a variety of well-known cocktails. If you wonder what’s so special about it, what Kahlua alcohol content is, and how to incorporate it, keep on reading.

Kahlua is a coffee-flavored, rum, sugar, and arabica coffee-based liqueur made in Mexico. Introduced in 1936, the drink remains the top-selling world champion of coffee liqueurs, and it’s widely available to buy around the world and online. Because of its popularity and sweet flavor, many wonder how much alcohol is in Kahlua and where it came from.

Origin of Kahlua

Pedro Domecq first started producing Kahlua in the far 1936 in Veracruz, Mexico. The name Kahlua carries the meaning, “House of the Acolhua people” in the Veracruz Nahuatl language, which was spoken in the area before the conquest of the Spanish. Kahlua became available in the US only from 1962 onward when Jules Berman first started the importing of Kahlua in the United States. 

1 bottle = 7 years

The base spirit used for making Kahlua has similarities with rum. Primarily made from coffee beans, Kahlua contains high amounts of caffeine. Besides its blend of fine Mexican coffee, this drink contains other ingredients like rum, corn syrup, vodka, and sugar. 

Because of the time needed to grow and harvest coffee beans, sugar cane, and vanilla, a single bottle can take up to seven years for production. This long preparation is allocated for its aging, which gives the drink the distinctive flavor that has made it the best coffee liqueur in the world. Kahlua alcohol by volume is determined by the specific mixtures of ingredients in each variety.

Kahlua Especial

You may wonder what the Kahlua alcohol content is? Since 2004 Kahlua alcohol by volume is 20.0%, which is typical for most liqueurs. Earlier versions had 26.5% alcohol content. In 2021 a new bottle design was introduced along with a reduced alcohol content to 16% to address conscious drinking.

In 2002, a new high-end drink called “Kahlua Especial”. First offered only in duty-free shops, now this special baby could be found in the United States, Canada, and Australia. 

With arabica coffee beans from Veracruz, Mexico, this new product will give you a buzz with the highest amount of alcohol content at about 36% alcohol by volume. This version is also less thick and not as sweet as the previous one. It seems the answer to the question of how much alcohol is in Kahlua is a varied one.

Female-led for quite some time!

Maria del Pilar Gutierrez has spent 28 years as the general manager of Kahlua. Her mother was from San Francisco. She got married to a Spaniard and went on a honeymoon in Mexico. She stayed there. Unfortunately, Maria’s father died before she was born, leaving the family with a single parent. 

They were poor and hardworking. When the Kahlua company was only a small start-up with 7 employees, Maria joined the team full-time in 1960 while she was still a student. She was the head of operations in her 20s and survived three male-led ownerships of the company. Maria always kept the quality up to a high standard, much of the identity of the company can be credited to her.

Eco- program

At the beginning of 2019, a new eco- program was launched promising the source of all of its coffee used sustainably by 2022. Mexican coffee farmers and their families will benefit from the program. They will be further educated and treated equally regardless of gender and social cohesion.

1957, B-52

Calgary, Canada back in 1977- the first B-52 shot was created. It soon became incredibly popular around the world. Simple and effective, B-52 is easy to make yourself. Get a shot glass and add one by one- a part of Kahlua, a part of Irish cream, and a part of triple sec or orange liqueur. If you order it in a bar you might get the full package and have your B-52 being lit on fire right in front of your eyes. The burning layers will wow you! Enjoy!