12/07/2025
Coal Ooh Ah
A West Virginia Coffee Liqueur
Hello and welcome to Gwen Clayton’s messy kitchen. In today’s recipe, we’re making Coal Ooh Ah, a West Virginia Liqueur.
West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky have a rich heritage steeped in the coal industry. This copycat Kahlua recipe is a nod to that heritage by using locally sourced ingredients. Today’s recipe features West Virginia brands, but you could make a Kentucky version by using Goose Bridle Coffee Roasters and your favorite Kentucky bourbon.
Ingredients:
2 cups brewed coffee. I’m using the Brazil single origin coffee from Hill Tree Roastery
4 cups sugar. I’m using Sugar in the Raw
2 tbls vanilla. I’m using Bourbon-Madagascar Vanilla Extract from Bourbon Barrel Foods in Louisville, Kentucky
2 cups spirit. I’m making two batches—one with Old Scout Bourbon from Smooth Ambler Spirits in Maxwelton, West Virginia, and one with Drink of the Devil from Hatfield & Mccoy Moonshine LLC in Gilbert, West Virginia. Original Kahlua uses white rum, but I’ve seen some recipes call for vodka. Use what you like.
To brew the coffee, I’m using a stovetop campfire method and I’m making a full 4-cup pot. I will use 2 cups for the Coal Ooh Ah, and the other 2 cups either for me to drink or to keep on hand in case the simple syrup needs to be thinned out.
Grind ½ cup of beans in a bullet blender or coffee grinder.
In a campfire-style coffee pot, boil 4 cups of cold water (I normally use the cold water from my refrigerator’s ice machine, but Alek Daily, the co-owner of Hill Tree recommends spring water).
Once it comes to a boil, remove from heat, add your ground beans, and reduce the temperature to medium/low heat. After the stove has cooled a little bit, return the coffee pot to the burner.
The coffee will form a crust. Don’t mess with it. Don’t stir it. Don’t scrape the sides. Just let it go. It will eventually form a foam on top called crema. That’s the good stuff.
When the crema covers the whole top, set your timer for 4 minutes. Make sure the temperature on the stove is just high enough for the coffee to bubble. The way it brews is by turning over the coffee as the bubbles boil.
After four minutes, remove from heat and strain into a metal mesh filter perched on top of another coffee pot or some other pourable container. Set aside.
In a heavy bottom pot, add 4 cups of sugar and 2 cups of coffee. Bring to a boil. Stir frequently. As soon as it boils, remove from heat. The sugar will burn easily, so don’t cook it too long.
Once the coffee syrup cools, add 2 tbls of vanilla extract and give it a good stir.
Divide the syrup in two batches.
Pour one batch in a bottle with 2 cups of spirit.
Cap the bottle and give it a good shake.
Do the same with the second batch.
Technically, you can drink it now, but some people like to let it age in the bottle a little bit.
I found these little 8 ounce bottles on Amazon so I could divide the batches up into four bottles of each kind.
