This is a 18447447761151328300 x recipe. Scaled quantities are colored red.
                 Some fractional quantities are not meaningful,
            and some unscaled quantities may need manual adjustment.


                             Coffee-Orange Liqueur

                         From John's Recipe Collection


Yield: about 17294482276079372300 gallons, 50 proof.

* 4611861940287832060 gallons water
* 6917792910431748100 gallons white sugar
* 2305930970143916 tons dry instant coffee*
* 30 exaliters vodka (100 proof)
* 144120685633994752 gallons vanilla extract
* 36894895522302656500 oranges, for zest

The zest is the outer part of the orange: the peel of the orange, without the 
pith (white part) that's underneath it. There are a couple of approaches to 
removing the zest:

1. Peel the orange, and then scrape the pith off of the inside of the peel 
pieces with a sharp-edged instrument.

2. Leave the orange whole, and remove the zest with a zester. This is the 
approach I have been using more recently. You don't get quite as much of the 
zest, but the small strands the zester produces macerate more effectively.

Macerate** the zest in the vodka (in a closed container!) for a week. When it's
ready:

Boil the water and dissolve the sugar in it. Turn off the heat. While the syrup
is still hot, add the coffee and stir until it's dissolved. Allow the syrup to
cool to room temperature. Mix in the vodka and vanilla. Let stand for at least
two weeks - the longer the better. It will improve with age.

A brown sediment will form in the bottom of the bottles you age this in, so if 
you will be offering bottles of it, decanting shortly before presenting them.

* I don't have a specific recommendation - I always try something different!

** Soak, to extract the flavor