Makaio

A smoother Kahlua

Rating: 8/23 N: Surprisingly vegetal, a bit on the light side, but astringent. There are some earthy notes going on here, as well as some ones that smell like plants, giving this a nice sort of genuineness to it. There's some spice on the nose as well and a sort of natural plant-based unroasted bitterness that I can't quite place. A bit drier and lighter than Café Granita, but also a bit more bitter, possibly kind of like coffee. P: It's quite sweet, but there's some nice semi-sweet chocolate and a kind of roasted note along with some spices. I wish that the coffee flavor were stronger, but the actual flavor here is OK. It isn't super complex, but I do kind of get a coffee vibe and I don't get a confectioner's sugar chalkiness. It's a little herbal and funky, but mostly in a kind of interesting way, This palate will not please all and even I don't really want to sip it, but I do kind of appreciate it. Replacing some of that sweetness with coffee would really help though.The chocolate character is really too much and the light watery alcohol element really does stick around quite a bit. F: The sweetness sadly remains pretty strongly here. There's vegetal, caramel, chocolate, alcohol, and a little bit of coffee with some some hints of spices, but it's a big step down from the palate. Even a hint of confectioner's sugar comes out. Considering the poor finish, this is sadly only a hair better than Veil's Double Espresso. I think it's probably an 8, but I could be convinced to give it a 9. It's unfortunately less rich than Café Granita, but it's better executed with less chemical flavor. I would take this, but it still isn't as good as plain old Kahlúa.