In case you hadn’t noticed (and I’ve yet to see these widely on sale in liquor stores), Kahlua is now broadening its line away from just the standby coffee liqueur and into other flavors. The latest is the 40-proof Kahlua Mocha, a chocolate-coffee blend launching this month that is built from “100% Arabica coffee, natural vanilla and real dark chocolate.”

It’s kind of a no-brainer. Who doesn’t like chocolate and coffee together?

In the glass, however, the chocolate flavor is definitely muted. I tried it in a mocha-fied Black Russian and the chocolate flavor wasn’t readily apparent. If I hadn’t known it was there and wasn’t paying attention, I might not have even noticed. While overall the drink was just fine and very enjoyable, you could easily get the same effect by adding a 1/4 oz. of chocolate liqueur to your Black Russian, or a couple of drops of chocolate syrup, in a pinch.

I did enjoy Kahlua Mocha better than Kahlua Hazelnut (C+ / $15), which struck me as having a chemical taste instead of a nutty one. (The Hazelnut was better with additional mixers instead of just vodka.) I’ve yet to try the other new flavor, Kahlua French Vanilla and Kahlua Especial, which is kind of the “reserve” version of regular Kahlua but which sounds like a winner.

Bottom line: If you like regular Kahlua, you’ll probably feel exactly the same way about Kahlua Mocha.

B / $15 / kahlua.com