Touring Mexico on the Hunt for Big Kahlua

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The Hunt For Big Kahlua

The simple blend of cane liquor, coffee, vanilla, and caramel we know as Kahlua has a long history, inseparable from the Veracruz region of Mexico where the drink comes from. Our quest to imbibe the best-tasting Kahlua, as well as unearth the story behind it, required us to stray far outside Mexico City into territory the average tourist doesn't touch. Here's what we found.

by Mike Dawson

Veracruz: Birthplace of Kahlua

Kahlua owes its heritage and ingredients to the lush Mexican state of Veracruz, where, in the western region, along the Sierra Madres range, coffee and sugarcane are the major (legal) cash crops. Turn off any highway and you’ll quickly find yourself on mud-slick roads flanked on one side with towering ‘cane stalks and Arabica coffee trees on the other. This coffee ‘n’ cane culture is so prevalent that every tiny town has more cafes than cantinas and boasts at least one machete shop for farmers.

Coffee and ‘Cane Collide

Have sugarcane, will booze it up. While you can make rum from ‘cane, the original treat of Veracruz is agaurdiente, or “fire water,” which is straight-up sugarcane moonshine. It’s clear, sweet, heavy in ethanol and back in the day before double distillation, could cause blindness. (You can still score homemade aguardiente in off-the-cut cantinas of Veracruz. Sip it with lime, water, and an ophthalmologist.) It wasn’t long before buzzed farmers started mixing coffee into their sugar spirit. In 1936, a very smart guy started bottling this local libation and called it Kahlua. And that’s how the original Sparks was born!

Mexico City Mix

After harvesting in Veracruz, the sugar and coffee are shipped to the famous Casa de Domecq distillery in Mexico City, about four hours west. For those who’ve never toured distilleries or breweries, they’re usually charm-less, industrial eyesores. Not this historical spot, which was built in the early 1900s by a Spanish bullfighter and sherry magnate, Álvaro Domecq. It’s literally an old-world hacienda, a stucco-walled compound with bell towers, random al frescos of saints and manicured topiary gardens. We totally got drunk here.

Barista Goes Big

Kahlua liqueur is crazy simple and surprisingly pure. It’s cane liquor, handpicked Arabica coffee from Veracruz, a little vanilla and some caramel added to darken the color (otherwise it would look muddy brown instead of molasses black). The cane booze takes about seven years to age, but after that, it’s blended with the Arabica coffee and bottled and shipped. The java is made in a giant, three-story coffeemaker manned by a single barista, Alberto Perez, whose official title is “coffee operator.” This dude brews 450 tons of coffee beans a month. One of his many perks: He swipes a scoop of fresh beans for his daily coffee break. “Much better than Starbucks,” he said.

Crush on the K

Skip the Black Russian and the espresso martini. Steal this tip from the local folks who live and breathe (and make) Kahlua for living. Before dinner or with dessert, pour the stuff on ice, squeeze in a lime wedge, top with a splash of soda and sip. Welcome to the tastiest pick-me-up on the planet.