Liqueurs
Liqueurs represent a vast and variable category of alcoholic spirits, distinguished by the fact that they are flavored with, well, almost anything. Fruit-flavored liqueurs like triple sec are well-known to most drinkers, but there are also cocoa-flavored liqueurs (creme de cacao), cream-infused liqueurs (Baileys, et al.), coffee-flavored liqueurs (Kahlua), whiskey-flavored liqueurs (Drambuie, et al.), and nut-flavored liqueurs (Frangelico, and many more). Bitter, herbal liqueurs represent a huge category of this segment, with amari being a specific sub-category of bittersweet liqueurs that has a devout following. (It’s also a separate category of coverage here at Drinkhacker.) Many of these herbal liqueurs are derived from ancient medicinal recipes. Liqueurs can vary wildly in alcoholic content and can be consumed neat, on the rocks, or — most commonly — as a component in any number of cocktails.
Top Liqueurs Posts:
A Brief History of Orange Flavored Liqueurs
St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
Drambuie 15 Liqueur
Pamplemousse is French for grapefruit (rose indicating this is pink grapefruit), which is one of the iconic flavors used in cocktailing. The catch is that grapefruit is commonly used fresh — much like lemon and lime. It seems there’s a reason why very few lemon or lime flavored liqueurs can be found on the market…
Marie Brizard recently launched its response to Aperol, a bright orange liqueur (naturally flavored, artificially colored) designed specifically for spritzing. The product is crafted in Bordeaux, France and is infused with over 30 botanicals, “including wormwood, bay, basil, thyme, and citrus, and complemented by cherry and apple distillates.” Interestingly, it is specifically designed to be…
San Francisco-based Brucato Spirits is the company behind Oro y Fierro (“gold and iron”) a new line of liqueurs based on — wait for it — kumquats. That’s the gist — made with California-grown fruit — so let’s dive in to this pair of sweet operators. Both are a hearty 80 proof. Oro y Fierro…
What is elderflower? Before St. Germain hit the scene in 2007, it wasn’t a flower I gave much thought to, but after that moment in time, the cocktail world changed forever. Elderflower is a product harvested from the elder tree (Sambucus), which is a shrub that grows widely across Europe and the U.S. The white…
Cocktail & Sons makes some amazing artisanal syrups and mixers, and lately it’s put its first foot into the non-alcoholic spirits space with the launch of ZeroNero [red], a bitter amaro designed for solo sipping or for use in cocktails or with simple mixers like seltzer or soda. Listed botanicals include cloves, cassia bark, star…
Come mister tally man, tally me banana! Banana liqueur tends to be one of those unsung cocktail ingredients that few give much serious thought to. A splash of something yellow to give a cocktail a vague tropicality, right? Think again. Banana liqueur has entered its own small renaissance, and mixologists are discovering myriad uses for…
Amaretto has been part of the cocktail world since at least 1851, when history says the liqueur was invented. While amaretto — Italian for “a little bitter,” a diminutive of amaro — is now thought of as an almond-flavored spirit, the reality is that most amaretti do not contain any almonds at all. What they’re going…
While Fernet-Branca is the most well-known of its ilk, “fernet” is actually a style of densely bitter amaro, invariably made with a secret recipe, though most include myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and saffron in the mix — at least according to Wikipedia. Luxardo makes one, too, billing it as “Fernet Amaro,” claiming an infusion of…
The amaro craze continues with the launch of Brucato, a collection of three amari made in San Francisco with a heavy reliance on California-grown botanicals. The trio of expressions are markedly different, but all are widely versatile, able to be used as an aperitif, digestif, or — my pick — as a cocktail ingredient or…
Absinthe Ordinaire is a decidedly non-traditional absinthe — in fact, it’s not a true absinthe at all but a liqueur, made with sugar and artificial color, and bottled at just 46% alcohol. The French product does claim a historic recipe dating back to 1792 and includes classic ingredients of true absinthes, including wormwood. I did have…