Boil water and sugar until dissolved. Turn off heat. Slowly add dry instant coffee and continue stirring. Add a chopped vanilla bean to the vodka, then combine the cooled sugar syrup and coffee solution with the vodka. Cover tightly and shake vigorously each day for 3 weeks. Strain and filter. Yield: about 4 cups I do substitute vanilla extract for the vanilla bean because I always have the extract on hand. I also dont usually wait three weeks to drink it. If you use the extract you only have to wait a short while to try it. (Like about 5 minutes :-). Its also best to let the sugar mixture cool completely so the vodka wont evaporate when its added. Ive never added the caramel coloring. You really dont need it. If you like a smoother feel to the liqueur you can add about 1 teaspoon of glycerine to the finished product. REC.FOOD.RECIPES From rec.food.cooking archives. Downloaded from G Internet, G Internet.