GOOD TO THE LAST DROP

“I have a recipe for coffee liqueur that is great,” Kathryn Upton writes. “Friends said they would rather have mine than the real thing.”

COFFEE LIQUEUR

1 pint distilled water

1 (2-ounce) jar instant coffee

4 cups sugar

1 quart vodka

1 vanilla bean

Bring water to boil.Combine coffee, sugar and boiling water. Stir until coffee and sugar are dissolved. Cool.

Add vodka and pour into 2 (1-liter) bottles. Cut vanilla bean in half and split each half length-wise before adding to bottles. Cap and let blend 1 month before serving.

----KATHRYN UPTON

Yuccca Valley