Appearance: Walnut brown, almost black, with no cloudiness. Translucent, but very dark. Aroma: A mild but rounded aroma similar to that of a cup of sweet black instant coffee with a drop of rum. Palate and Texture: Very sweet but surprisingly lacking in coffee flavour. There is coffee, of course, but the sweetness and syrupy texture is so prominent it dominates, so you notice coffee more in the aftertaste. The profile is simple and shallow: coffee, but with little nuance. It tastes more like it is based on coffee & chicory essence than crafted from coffee beans. The texture is thick, satiny and either cloying or the best thing about it, depending on your preference. Back in the day there were not very many coffee liqueurs and, along with Tia Maria, Kahlúa was a popular standard. Nowadays, however, these old-school sweet coffee liqueurs have been eclipsed by artisan semi-sweet cold-brew liqueurs (such as Mr Black) that have a significantly greater and more complex coffee presence which makes them superior as both neat liqueurs or cocktail ingredients. "Adequate" : 71/100 (2 stars)