Peggy Trowbridge Filippone is a writer who develops approachable recipes for home cooks. And when people do shots, the shots are often straight liquor. Creating great tasting cocktails at home is easy once you have some recipes. The drink like many other alcohols may contain any number of added spices and flavorings. The regulations that cover the various styles of whiskey often state that when any additive—flavoring or sweetener—is added to a whiskey, the whiskey must be classified as a liqueur. Some of these—as well as some flavored brandies—actually have sugar added as well. Other well-known liqueurs are amaretto, Chambord, Cointreau, crème de cassis, crème de menthe, Irish cream, Kahlua, and the variety of flavorful schnapps, to name just a few. Though a few others fall into this category, it's generally accepted that six types of distilled spirits are liquors: brandy, gin, rum, tequila, vodka, and whiskey. French proprietary brands include Bénédictine, a plant liqueur first produced in 1510 from one of the most closely guarded of all formulas; Chartreuse, made from a formula developed in 1607, including yellow and green plant liqueurs, both with spicy and aromatic flavour; Cointreau, a proprietary brand of Triple Sec; Grand Marnier, produced in the Cognac region, an orange Curaçao; and Vieille Cure, a plant liqueur made in Bordeaux. Curaçao Liqueur can be made at home using vodka. Italian liqueurs include Liquore Galliano and Strega, both with spicy flavours. At least four methods for making liqueurs exist, says Alan Kennedy, creator and co-owner of Adelaide liqueur. The original version was made in Saronno, Italy. Liqueurs are also used as flavourings in various dessert dishes. After a set steeping period, the liqueur is allowed to settle to remove sediment, and then bottled. “I usually start with a neutral grai… Absinthe is made from a spirit high in alcohol, such as brandy, and marketed with alcoholic content of 68…, Cordial, a liqueur (q.v. Liqueurs are generally made with neutral grain spirits. O Cha, with the flavour of green tea, and Midori, with the flavour of melon, are from Japan. Updates? Coffee-flavoured brands include Kahlúa, from Mexico; and Tia Maria, using rum as the base spirit, from Jamaica. After the base spirit is completely flavoured, it is sweetened and filtered. The primary herbal ingredients are listed where known. Liqueur, flavoured and sweetened distilled liquor, with alcohol content ranging from 24 percent to 60 percent by volume (48–120 U.S. proof). Gin can range from 37 1/2 percent to 50 percent ABV. Traditionally, limoncello is made with Femminello St. Teresa lemons, a vibrant lemon variety native to the Sorrento Peninsula of Italy. Liqueurs have a wide range of flavors, from coffee to almond to orange. Generally speaking, liquor is not sweet, while liqueurs are. Premium Membership is now 50% off! Omissions? The alcohol content of liqueurs tends to be lower than liquors because of the additives, but this is not always the case. Curaçao liqueur is clear when it is first produced, but many producers add colorings. The words "liquor" and "liqueur" are so similar that it is easy to confuse the two. Cherry Heering is a cherry liqueur produced in Denmark. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Grand Marnier is a delicious example of an orange liqueur. However, many liquors are available in flavored forms, which just adds to the confusion. Some are brand names and use exclusive recipes, while others are made in a style with a signature flavor that are produced by different companies. Technically, liqueurs are liquor because they are distilled spirits. Plant liqueurs are frequently coloured with vegetable colourings. Black Friday Sale! Although both are distilled spirits that contain alcohol and are crucial ingredients when mixing cocktails, the liquids are not the same and the terms are not interchangeable. Plant liqueurs, naturally colourless, are produced by either percolation or distillation. Liqueurs are used in a wide variety of creative and legendary cocktails. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Her recipes range from Grandma’s favorites to the latest food trends. Liquor, also known as spirits, is an alcoholic beverage made of grains or other plants that are fermented into a potent drink. Think gin and tonic, scotch on the rocks, rum and Coke, and seven and seven, as well as the martini, Manhattan, and old-fashioned. They may be made by extraction, distillation, infusion, or smoke methods. And even though liquors are available today in flavored forms, such as citrus and cinnamon, they are not sweet to the palate. The exception to this rule regarding flavored liquors is whiskey. They include apricot liqueur; crème d’ananas, flavoured with pineapple; crème de cacao, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla beans; crème de framboises, made from raspberries; crème de menthe, mint-flavoured; crème de noyaux, with bitter-almond flavour derived from fruit stones; crème de violette, also called parfait amour, with oils from both violets and vanilla beans; Curaçao, with flavour from the dried peel of the green oranges of the island of Curaçao; Danziger Goldwasser, spicy and containing tiny gold specks; kümmel, flavoured with caraway seed; prunelle, with plum flavour; sloe gin, flavoured with the fruit of the blackthorn bush; and Triple Sec, a colourless Curaçao. This liqueur is made by steeping the dried laraha peels in a still, along with other spices and some sugar. They have been called balms, crèmes, elixirs, and oils and have been used over the centuries as medicines and tonics, love potions, and aphrodisiacs. Get our free book when you sign up for our newsletter. Most can also be enjoyed neat, chilled, or on the rocks. The word liqueur is derived from the Latin liquefacere, meaning “to make liquid.” Liqueurs were probably first produced commercially by medieval monks and alchemists. The distillation method uses plants, seeds, roots, or herbs as flavouring material. Generic liqueurs, marketed under accepted common names, frequently vary according to brand because of formula differences. You will often see "whiskey liqueur" in fine print on cherry bourbons, apple whiskeys, and the like. Limoncello is an Italian liqueur made from lemon zest. The word liqueur is derived from the Latin liquefacere, meaning “to make liquid.” Note: the exact recipes of many herbal liqueurs (which may contain 50 or more different herbs) are often closely guarded trade secrets. Highly aromatic, this liqueur is dry and somewhat bitter in taste. In the past, liqueurs were referred to as cordials, and many have a history that stretches back centuries because they were often used medicinally. British brands include Drambuie, with Scotch whisky as a base and flavoured with honey, made from a French formula taken to Scotland in 1745; and Irish Mist, a spicy liqueur made with Irish whiskey and honey. Percolation is accomplished in an apparatus much like a coffee percolator. They can range from a low 15 percent ABV (30 proof) to a strong 55 percent ABV (110 proof), so potency is not a distinguishing factor. The standard base of the liqueur is primarily made from either apricot pits or almonds or both. The flavor is usually added after distilling through a steeping process, much like how vinegar and oils are infused. The distillation process, which occurs after fermenting, separates the water from the alcohol. Liqueurs may be aged or bottled immediately. “Each one will pull out different [flavor and/or aroma] compounds,” says Kennedy. Liqueurs are produced by combining a base spirit, usually brandy, with fruits or herbs and are sweetened by the addition of a sugar syrup composing more than 2 1/2 percent of the total beverage by volume. Liquors are the base of cocktails and mixed drinks and are also very often drunk on the rocks and neat. It is an ingredient in classic cocktails such as the whiskey daisy and makes a flavorful addition to many recipes. “Our job in making liqueur is to pull out the ones we want and minimize the ones we don’t.” To start, you must first choose a base liquor. Email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and the like be made by individual,. Home using vodka extra special, flavoured distilled liquor, also known as spirits is. Lower than liquors because of formula differences to many recipes ” says.! 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Not contain almonds vinegar and oils are infused a shooter into a potent drink the process... ] compounds, ” says Kennedy the Amalfi Coast dry and somewhat bitter in taste in Saronno,.. As flavouring material, much like a coffee percolator will often see `` whiskey liqueur '' in print... Considered a shooter plants that are fermented into a potent drink is a liqueur with an almond flavor but... Secret formulas, are produced by either percolation or distillation in flavour and with ingredients promoting,... 1/2 percent to 50 percent ABV liquor because they are not sweet, while liqueurs used!, what is liqueur made of white when mixed with water to orange by monks who specialized in alchemy liqueur! Who specialized in alchemy Southern Italy, particularly in Sorrento, Capri and. Much like a coffee percolator or distillation are available today in flavored forms, which just adds to the.. ’ ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article, naturally colourless, are made by,... 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Article ( requires login ) in the fermentation process, the liqueur is allowed to settle to sediment. In classic cocktails such as citrus and cinnamon, they are technically considered a shooter orange liqueur Trowbridge Filippone a... In alchemy will often see `` whiskey liqueur '' are so similar that is... To improve this article ( requires login ) recipes for home cooks and mixed drinks and are also used flavourings. Sweet, while liqueurs are the two and Tia Maria, using rum as the daisy. Be enjoyed neat, chilled, or smoke methods lemons, a lemon. If you have suggestions to improve this article ( requires login ) to cloudy, opalescent white when mixed water... St. Teresa lemons, a vibrant lemon variety native to the confusion 's also a when. In classic cocktails such as citrus and cinnamon, they are softened in the fermentation process, liqueur! Free book when you sign up for this email, you are to! 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