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3 May, 2013

Kahlua Midnight

Comments : 11 Posted in : Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs on by : The Gourmez

Kahlua Midnight
Mexico
35% ABV

Kahlua_Midnight_01

Kahlua Midnight strikes me as the serious older brother of the regular Kahlua we know and love. It’s a mix of rum and black coffee liqueur, and that appeals to me because I don’t take cream or sugar with my coffee, never mind that it still has sugar in there somewhere. In related news, the original Kahlua is also a coffee liqueur, but it doesn’t use the word black in taglines, therefore I am not their intended audience. It’s the little things that win me over, like one word targeted to me from a team of advertisers.

Kahlua Midnight appears a lot darker in the bottle than outside of it. I’d call it melted toffee in the glass, though the darkness comes back depending on your angle. It has moderate legs and smells of…coffee and rum! I’d ascribe almond and hazelnut notes to the smell as well.

Kahlua_Midnight_02

I am tasting it at room temperature, although the bottle says it’s best as a chilled shot. It’s pretty darn good like this, smooth and sugary enough to go down easily. The rum and coffee flavors are nicely balanced. Those nutty notes show up again in the aftertaste.

I think this liqueur is pleasing on its own, but I couldn’t help but imagine it over ice with the RumChata in my alcohol cabinet (Note, in the interests of honesty, it’s an alcohol stand. But no image would have come to mind if I said stand, right?). RumChata is also rum based, and it has cream and spices in the mix. In other words, while I take my coffee black, I do not take my cocktails the same way. So I present a coffee cocktail for you …

Note, I had no orange, so no zest.

Note, I had no orange, so no slice.

Café D’olla on a Bender
1.5 shots Kahlua Midnight
0.5 shots RumChata
0.5 shots Grand Marnier
Orange slice

Shake that alcohol up, serve it over crushed ice, and garnish with the orange slice. It’s a treat!

In both sipping and as a cocktail, Kahlua Midnight does well, preserving a cleaner coffee flavor than its more sugary sibling.

rating_truffle1

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

Drink Hacker

In all honesty, Kahlua Midnight — in taste — is not a great departure from its mother, standard-grade Kahlua. The coffee is clear on the nose and the palate. Rum, as with regular Kahlua, is really just hinted at, indistinctly and more on the undercarriage of the nose than in the body, where the strong coffee character is simply overpowering to anything underneath it. It’s got more of a boozy kick in the middle, but the finish is mild, dominated by a clear, fresh-ground coffee character.

Simple Cocktails

The replacement for Kahlua Especial, Midnight is very much a Kahlua product. It has the iconic Kahlua flavor, but with less of the syrupy characteristics you find in standard Kahlua. It’s a stronger drink, too (70 proof), and … less mixable as a result. White Russians were too strong and unbalanced with Midnight, and I realized that Midnight and cream was the best fit here.

Reviewed 25 April 2013.

11s COMMENTS

11 thoughts on : Kahlua Midnight

  • Anonymous
    July 19, 2018 at 1:20 pm

    I just picked a 5th of minight for 16.00, they wanted 25.00 for 5th of especial. I’ve had both I think I prefer the especial. It’s hard to find though😌

    • July 26, 2018 at 3:44 pm

      I haven’t tried the especial yet!

  • February 19, 2020 at 9:44 pm

    ——- WELL HELL —– YOU MAKE IT OUT TO BE A STRONGER COFFEE FLAVOR THAN COMMON ESPRESSO—– THINK I MIGHT MIX SOME OF MY OWN SIMON’S SIMPLE SYRUP TO BRING IT DOWN SOME OR EVEN SPLIT IT WITH SOME KAPALI AND TOP IT OFF INTO A CAPPUCCINO- — WITH A SPRILE OF NUTMEG AND A BIT OF HERSHEYS CHOCOLATE STRUP —- CALL IT A BELLA VIVA—- THE DON—-MIXMASTER- — INSTEAD OF HERSHEYS , MAYBE AN AMOUNT OF CHOCOLATE CAKE—-X2 EXPERIMENT- ”’

  • February 19, 2020 at 10:17 pm

    ””” YES , I DO OWN A FROTH MACHINE—-GOES RIGHT INTI THE FRIDGE—–THE DON—–

  • February 19, 2020 at 10:40 pm

    ——COULD MAKE IT A FROZEN CAPPUCCINO BY RUNNING IT THROUGH MY SLURPY MACHINE—-‘ YUP , GOT ONE OF THOSE TOO—–
    THE DON —–

  • February 21, 2020 at 7:35 pm

    —– THOUGHT I THAT WOULD $AVE MY MIDNIGHT AND EXPERIMENT WITH MY KAPALI UNTIL I FOUND –THE TASTE WORHY OF MY RESERVE—- ANYWAYS , MIXED UP SOME KAPALI AND SOME BACARDI AND MADE A WHITE RUSSIAN AND TOPPED IT OFF WITH SOME AMARETTO— TASTEES LIKE FLAVORED COFFEE CREAMER —- BOUGHT SOME OF THAT BUT WANTED AN EXTRA LITTLE KICK —- AIN’T HALF BAD BUT THE AMARETTO SHINES THROUGH IT— MAYBE A LITTLE LESS BUT IF YOU’RE INTO FLAVORED COFFEE — WELL HELL— GIVE IT A TRY— IT AIN’T A WHITE RUSSIAN BUT IT’S A PLEASENT DRINK—-AND FOR MY NEXT TRICK….:..A MEMBER FROM THE AUDIENCE ,PLEASE— THE DON—- MIXMASTER- —–

  • February 21, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    —— I COULD’VE TOPPED IT OFF WITH SOME FRANGELLICA AND MADE UP A MOCK MIDNIGHT AS YOU HAVE STATED A HAZELNUT AFTERGLOW—- FOR HALF THE PRICE AT A GREATER QUANTITY PER BOTTLE OF MIDNIGHT——– AND USED SOME VANILLA VODKA FOR THAT GRENCH VANILLA DEADHEAD—– WTF—- IT MIGHT BE THE CREAM OF THE CROP—– DIFFETENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS—– I DIGRESS’—–THE DON—– ALCOHOLIC COW TIPPING—–TOO FUNNY—–

  • February 21, 2020 at 8:17 pm

    ——HOW NOW , BROWN COW—— I’LL KEEP YOU POSTED—–THE MIXMASTER—–

  • February 21, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    ——- WELL , YA HEARD ABOUT THE MIDNIGHT RAMBLER’—— I’M LOOKIN FOR IT—— MICK JONES- —- I KNOW THAT YOU’RE JONESING FOR IT—— THE DON—–

  • becca
    April 15, 2020 at 12:09 am

    Sounds like some good experimenting, Donald!

  • Donald Nickless
    November 8, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    —— LIFE RUNS ON DUNKIN —— IT AIN’T AS STRONG AS STARBUCKS BUT IF THAT’S YOUR TASTE SLOWLY ADD SOME INSTANT COFFEE TO TASTE —– TRY IT WITH SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE SPICED RUM —– THE DON —–

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