Now that we are heading into the holidays, our palates naturally shift to red wine, darker beers and darker liquors. So here is a perfect way to warm up the season!

When we were kids, I remember my Nana shipping homemade almond, coffee & apricot liqueurs up from California in all different types of bottles.  She was known for gifting these liqueurs to family and friends all year round. 

When we visit in 2014, I had a couple nips of her “secret sauce” and when I got home from our visit, found the exact Donvier Cordially Yours Cordial Maker on eBay.  It has been sitting in box until this past weekend!

There are a bunch of ways to make cordial or liqueurs, but if you are so lucky to have landed your hands on a Donvier Cordially Yours Cordial Maker, here is one of the classic recipes for a coffee liquor.

What you need:

1 3/4 cups water

3 Tbsp instant coffee granules or powder

1 1/2 cups sugar (1 cup should suffice)

1 half vanilla bean, split (and if you don’t have a vanilla bean 2 tspn vanilla extract)

2 1/4 cups run (light is what the original recipe called for but I used spiced)

In a sauce pan, boil water.  Remove from heat and add coffee and sugar.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved and pour mixture into the inner pot of the cordial maker.  Add the vanilla and rum.  Stir to mix and set the timer for 8 hours.

After the 8 hours, remove and store in airtight bottles.  This batch will produce approximately 1 quart of liqueur.  

Make a couple batches, store in cute antique bottles and gift’em – the perfect surprise stocking stuffer!

-Ash :0)