Tia Maria Liqueur 750ml

Tia Maria's origin story dates to colonial Jamaica, where legend holds that a young Spanish woman fled a plantation during conflict on the island, accompanied by a servant who carried a small trove of jewelry and the family's liqueur recipe. That recipe reportedly lay dormant for decades until Dr. Kenneth Evans rediscovered and began producing it in the 1930s and 40s, partnering with local figures including Eustace Myers of Myers Rum and Paul Geddes of Desnoes & Geddes to release the first five thousand cases, with Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee supplied by Keble Munn. The brand's ownership has since changed hands several times, moving through Pernod Ricard before being sold to Illva Saronno in 2009, which now produces it in Saronno, Italy.

The liqueur is built on 100 percent Arabica coffee beans sourced from certified plantations, blended with Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar's Sava region that is matured in a hydroalcoholic solution for at least three months to intensify its character. The structural backbone is a white overproof Jamaican rum distilled from sugarcane molasses grown on seaside plantations, which the producer credits with giving the liqueur its distinctive body. It is bottled at 20 percent alcohol by volume.

The result is a rich, sweet coffee liqueur with soft, velvety vanilla notes layered beneath a bold roasted coffee character, and a subtle warmth from the rum base rounding out the finish. It remains a defining ingredient in the Espresso Martini and works equally well simply poured over ice or mixed with milk.