Review: Kahlua Midnight Liqueur
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang out… and we’re gonna drink this new liqueur from the increasingly huge portfolio of products from Kahlua: Kahlua Midnight.
Midnight is a major departure for Kahlua, which has to date been happy to create new versions of its signature coffee liqueur by adding additional flavorings like you’d find in a coffee shop (various incarnations now include cinnamon, vanilla, hazelnut, mocha, and peppermint versions). Midnight is something different: A 70 proof monster mix of the classic coffee liqueur with rum.
In truth, even the standard 40-proof version of Kahlua has rum in it (it’s touted on the label), but it’s watered down and sugared up so those Desperate Housewives can sip it all day. At 70-proof, Kahlua Midnight is nearly full-strength booze, more rum than Kahlua — though it’s still just as black as before (caramel color is added). In case you’re unclear, the bottle is completely different than the standard tiki-friendly Kahlua one.
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.
What’s the point of Midnight? It’s primarily meant for consumption straight, on the rocks. God help the hacker that uses this stuff in lieu of standard Kahlua and doesn’t realize what he’s getting into.
70 proof.
A- / $24 / kahlua.com
Kahlua Midnight Liqueur
$24
I’d love to see the reaction of someone that uses this instead of regular Kahlua. How do you think this would react if you mixed it in a white russian? Obv as you said more rum taste, I’m just curious if it would overtake the vodka.
I love the Kahlua Midnight. It is great on the rocks, but mixed with Starbucks Mocha in can and crushed ice is fabulous. Just cant find it anywhere in Texas.
It would still be coffee-forward, with a touch more rum. I think it would work fine, but i would dial back the vodka to compensate for the extra alcohol.
How is this different to Kahlua Especial? It’s also 70 proof..
Richer coffee taste with hint of chocolate and smoother.
Adam – Unclear as I have no Especial on hand, but I know that Especial doesn’t play up the rum element.
Tried this for the first time , knowing going in at the 70 proof, and it totally kicked anus….mixed with Starbucks Doubleshot, I’ve coined it “Starry Nite”…this drink rocks so great I’d like to patten it…joe in Nebraska
I use to buy the original 70% proof (same funky shape label only in black) and my white Russians were so delicious. What has happened to the 70%, they changed mixture, along with the bottle and label? What a major disappointment. I noticed immediately that the 70% was allot lighter when you poured. It didn’t have the legs like the original. Why did it have to CHANGE!!! Please don’t mess with the original Kahlua –
Where can I buy in New Jersey?
Best bet is to look for it online. It’s widely available.