LIQUEUR TABLE

LIQUEUR	COLOUR	FLAVOUR/SPIRIT BASE	COUNTRY
ABRICOTINE	RED	APRICOT / BRANDY	FRANCE
AVOCAAT	YELLOW	EGG, SUGAR / BRANDY	HOLLAND
ANISETTE	CLEAR	ANISEED	FRANCE, SPAIN, ITALY, HOLLAND
AQUAVIT	CLEAR	CARAWAY, ANISE / GRAIN SPIRIT	SCANDINAVIA
ARRACK	CLEAR	HERBS, SAP OF PALM TREES	JAVA, INDIA, CEYLON, JAMAIKA, GULF
BENEDICTINE	YELLOW / GREEN	HERBS / BRANDY	FRANCE
B AND B	PALE YELLOW GREEN	BRANDY & BENEDICTINE	FRANCE
CALVADOS	AMBER	APPLE / BRANDY	FRANCE
CHARTREUSE	GREEN	HERBS, PLANTS / BRANDY	FRANCE
CHERRY BRANDY	DEEP RED	CHERRY / BRANDY	DENMARK
COINTREAU	CLEAR	ORANGE / BRANDY	FRANCE
CRÈME DE CACAO	DARK BROWN	CHOCOLATE / VANILLA	FRANCE
CRÈME DE MENTHE	GREEN	MINT / BRANDY	FRANCE
CRÈME DE VANILLE	CLEAR	VANILLA	FRANCE / HOLLAND
DRAMBUIE	GOLDEN	HONEY, HERB / WHISKY	SCOTLAND
GRAND MARNIER	AMBER	ORANGE / BRANDY	FRANCE
GLAYVA	GOLDEN	HERB, SPICE / WHISKY	SCOTLAND
KIRSCH	CLEAR	CHERRY / BRANDY	ALSACE
KAHLUA	PALE CHOCOLATE	COFFEE / RUM	MEXICA
KUMMEL	CLEAR	MARASCHINO CHERRY	ITALY
PARFAIT AMOUR	VIOLET	VIOLET, LEMON PEEL, SPICES	FRANCE, HOLLAND
SAKI	CLEAR	RICE	JAPAN
SAMBUCA	CLEAR	LIQUORICE / NEUTRAL SPIRIT	ITALY
SLIVOVITZ	CLEAR	PLUM / BRANDY	EUROPE

CLASSIFICATION OF LIQUEURS

vCHOCOLATE LIQUEURS

v COFFEE LIQUEURS

v CREAM LIUQEURS

v FRUIT LIUQEURS

v BERRY LIUQEURS

v FLOWER LIUQEURS

v HERBAL LIUQEURS

v ANISE FLAVOURED LIUQEURS

v NUT LIUQEURS

v WHISKY LIUQEURS 

LIQUEURS

LIQUEURS

Anise liqueurs have the interesting property of turning from transparent to cloudy when added to water: the oil of anise remains in solution in the presence of a high concentration of alcohol, but crystallizes when the alcohol concentration is reduced.

Layered drinks are made by floating different-coloured liqueurs in separate layers. Each liqueur is poured slowly into a glass over the back of a spoon or down a glass rod, so that the liquids of different densities remain unmixed, creating a striped effect. 

LIQUEURS

Nowadays, liqueurs are made worldwide and are served in many ways: by themselves, poured over ice, with coffee, mixed with cream or other mixers to create cocktails, etc. They are often served with or after a dessert. Liqueurs are also used in cooking.

Some liqueurs are prepared by infusing certain woods, fruits, or flowers, in either water or alcohol, and adding sugar or other items. Others are distilled from aromatic or flavoring agents. The distinction between liqueur and spirits (sometimes liquors) is not simple, especially since many spirits are available in a flavored form today. Flavored spirits, however, are not prepared by infusion. Alcohol content is not a distinctive feature. At 15-30%, most liqueurs have a lower alcohol content than spirits, but some liqueurs have an alcohol content as high as 55%. Dessert wine, on the other hand, may taste like a liqueur, but contains no additional flavoring. 

LIQUEURS

A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.

The word liqueur comes from the Latin liquifacere (“to liquefy”).

A distinction can be made between liqueurs and the kind of cordials that are made with fruit juice. In some parts of the world, people use the words “cordial” and “liqueur” interchangeably.

Liqueurs date back centuries and are historical descendants of herbal medicines, often those prepared by monks, as Chartreuse or Bénédictine. Liqueurs were made in Italy as early as the 13th century and their consumption was later required at all treaty signings during the Middle Ages.

MARC

Marc is a spirit distilled from pomace wine or from the residue of grape skins and seeds after the grapes have been pressed for wine making. It is manufactured in similar styles in other countries like Italy (Grappa), Portugal (Bagaciera) and Spain (Aguardente). 

FRAMBOISE

Framboise (pronounced /fʀɑ̃bwaz/) (from the French for raspberry) or Frambozenbier (Dutch) is a Belgian lambic beer that is fermented using raspberries. It is one of many modern fruitbeer types that have been inspired by the more traditional kriek beer, made using sour cherries.

Framboise is usually served in a small glass that resembles a champagne glass, only shorter (could also be a goblet). Most framboise beers are quite sweet, though the Cantillon brewery produces a tart version called Rosé de Gambrinus that is based on the traditional kriek style. The Liefmans brewery uses Oud bruin beer instead of lambic to make its high quality framboise beer, resulting in a very different taste. Recently, Framboise has become popular outside of Belgium, and can now be found in pubs and supermarkets all over the world. 

SLIVIVITZ

Slivovitz or Sliwowitz  is a distilled beverage made from Damson plums. Slivovitz is primarily produced in Slavic regions of Central and Eastern Europe, both commercially as well as by many households on an informal, homemade basis. Primary producing nations include Serbia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bosnia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. It is most popularly consumed in those nations, as well as wherever communities of expatriate from these nations exist. Similar plum brandies are also produced in Switzerland, France, the United States, and Canada, but marketed under other names, such as brandy, Pflümli, or eau de vie.  

KIRSCH

Kirschwasser (pronounced KIRSH-vahs-ər, German for “cherry water”, German pronunciation: [ˈkɪɐ̯ʃvasɐ]) is a clear, colourless fruit brandy traditionally made from double-distillation of morello cherries, a dark-coloured cultivar of the sour cherry. However, the beverage is now also made from other kinds of cherries.

The cherries are fermented complete (that is, including their stones).

Kirschwasser is often simply called Kirsch in both German- and English-speaking countries. 

POIRE WILLIAMS

Poire Williams is a colorless eau de vie made from the Williams pear. It is generally served chilled as an after-dinner drink.

Many producers of Poire Williams include an entire pear inside each bottle. This is achieved by attaching the bottle to a budding pear tree so that the pear will grow inside it.

The Williams pear is known as the Bartlett pear in the United States.

Williamine is brand of Poire Williams; the trademark is owned by Distillerie Louis Morand & Cie, who distill the drink on their premises in Martigny, Canton of Valais, Switzerland from nearby orchards. 

APPLE BRANDY

It is a brandy made by distilling hard cider or fermented apple pomace. Applejack (American Brandy) is sometimes produced by a different method which is now rarely used. This method involves freezing the fermented cider and then removing the ice. 

APPLE VARITIES

POPULAR APERITIFS & DIGESTIFS

CALVADOS:

Calvados is an apple brandy from the French région of Basse-Normandie or Lower Normandy. Calvados is distilled from specially grown and selected apples, of which there are over 200 named varieties. It is not uncommon for a Calvados producer to use over 100 specific varieties of apple to produce their Calvados. The apples used are either sweet (such as the Rouge Duret variety), tart (such as the Rambault variety), or bitter (such as the Mettais, Saint Martin, Frequin, and Binet Rouge varieties), with the latter category of apple being inedible. The fruit is picked (usually by hand) and pressed into a juice that is fermented into a dry cider. It is then distilled into eau de vie. After two years aging in oak casks, it can be sold as Calvados. The longer it is aged, the smoother the drink becomes. Usually the maturation goes on for several years. A half-bottle of twenty-year-old Calvados can easily command the same price as a full bottle of ten-year-old Calvados.

DIGESTIF

A digestif is an alcoholic beverage that is taken just after a meal, purportedly as an aid to digestion — hence the name, which is borrowed from French. If a digestif is a bitters, it will contain bitter or carminative herbs that some believe will aid digestion.

In contrast to apéritifs (which are taken before a meal), digestifs usually contain more alcohol. Digestifs are usually taken straight (neat) and are most often spirits such as amari, bitters, brandy, grappa, tequila, or whisky. Some wines (usually fortified wines) are served as digestifs — for example, sherry, port and madeira. 

APERITIF

An apéritif (also spelled aperitif) is an alcoholic drink that is usually served to stimulate the appetite before a meal, contrasting with digestifs, which are served after meals.

Apéritifs are commonly served with something small to eat, such as crackers, cheese, pâté, olives, and various kinds of finger food.

This French word is derived from the Latin verb aperire, which means “to open.” There is no consensus about the origin of the apéritif. Some say that the concept of drinking a small amount of alcohol before a meal dates back to the ancien Egyptians.

Main records, however, show that the apéritif first appeared in 1786 in Turin, Italy, when Antonio Benedetto Carpano invented vermouth in this city. In later years, vermouth was produced and sold by such well-known companies as Martini, Cinzano, and Gancia.

Apéritifs were already widespread in the 19th century in Italy, where they were being served in fashionable cafes in Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan, Turin, and Naples.

Apéritifs became very popular in Europe in the late 19th century. By 1900, they were also commonly served in the United States. In Spain and in some countries of Latin America, apéritifs have been a staple of tapas cuisine for centuries. 

POPULAR BRANDS OF CIDER

1.ARGENTINA: Real, Victoria, Del Valle, Rama Caida

2.AUSTRALIA: Strong bow, Mercury, Cold stream

3.AUSTRIA: Mostviertel

4.BELGIUM: Stassen, Strongbow Jacques, Konings

5.CANADA: John Molson. Ice Cider

6.BRITAIN: Biddenden, theobolds, strongbow, blackthorn. Bulmers, Frosty Jack, White Strike, Diamond White

7.USA: Martinelli’s, Woodchuck, 

CIDER PRODUCTION

Scatting and pressing:

Apples grown for consumption are suitable for cider making, though some regional cider-makers prefer to use a mix of eating and cider apples (as in Kent, England), or exclusively cider apples (as in the West Country, England). There are many hundreds of varieties of cultivars developed specifically for cider making.

Once the apples are gathered from trees in orchards they are scatted (ground down) into what is called pomace or pommage. Historically this was done using pressing stones with circular troughs, or by a cider mill. Cider mills were traditionally driven by the hand, water-mill, or horse-power. In modern times they are likely to be powered by electricity. The pulp is then transferred to the cider press and built up in layers known as cheeses into a block.

Traditionally the method for squeezing the juice from the cheese involves placing sweet straw or hair cloths between the layers of pomace. This will alternate with slatted ash-wood racks, until there is a pile of ten or twelve layers. It is important to minimize the time that the pomace is exposed to air in order to keep oxidation to a minimum.

The set is then subjected to increasing degrees of pressure, until all the 'must' or juice is squeezed from the pomace. This juice, after being strained in a coarse hair-sieve, is then put into either open vats or closed casks. The pressed pulp is given to farm animals as winter feed, composted or discarded, or used to make liqueurs.

Fermentation:

 

Fermentation is carried out at a temperature of 4–16 °C (40–60 °F). This is low for most kinds of fermentation, but is beneficial for cider as it leads to slower fermentation with less loss of delicate aromas.

Shortly before the fermentation consumes all the sugar, the liquor is racked (siphoned) into new vats. This leaves dead yeast cells and other undesirable material at the bottom of the old vat. At this point it becomes important to exclude airborne acetic bacteria, so vats are filled completely to exclude air. The fermenting of the remaining available sugar generates a small amount of carbon dioxide that forms a protective layer, reducing air contact. This final fermentation creates a small amount of carbonation. Extra sugar may be added specifically for this purpose. Racking is sometimes repeated if the liquor remains too cloudy.

Apple based juices with cranberry also make fine ciders; and many other fruit purées or flavourings can be used, such as grape, cherry, and raspberry.

The cider is ready to drink after a three month fermentation period, though more often it is matured in the vats for up to two or three years.

Blending and bottling

For larger-scale cider production, ciders from vats produced from different varieties of apple may be blended to accord with market taste. If the cider is to be bottled, usually some extra sugar is added for sparkle. Higher quality ciders can be made using the champagne method, but this is expensive in time and money and requires special corks, bottles, and other equipment. Some home brewers use beer bottles, which work perfectly well, and are inexpensive. This allows the cider to become naturally carbonated.

 

CIDER & PERRY

Cider (pronounced /ˈsaɪdər/) is a beverage made from apple juice. Non-alcoholic and alcoholic varieties are produced. Alcoholic beverages from cider are made from the fermented juice of apples and are known in the U.S. and Canada as hard cider, while non-alcoholic versions are known as apple cider. Alcoholic cider varies in alcohol content from less than 3% ABV in French cidre doux to 8.5% ABV or more in traditional English ciders.

Perry is an alcoholic beverage made of fermented pear juice. It is similar to cider, in that it is made using a similar process and often has a similar alcoholic content, up to 8.5% alcohol by volume. The term Pear Cider is sometimes used, and is considered equivalent to Perry by some industry bodies.

Perry has been common for centuries in Britain, particularly in the Three Counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and in parts of south Wales; and France, especially Normandy and Anjou. 

STYLES OF VERMOUTH

There are three general styles of vermouth, in order from driest to sweetest: extra dry, bianco/white, and sweet/red.

Sweet red vermouth is drunk as an apéritif, often straight up, as well as in mixed drinks like the Manhattan.

Dry white vermouth, along with gin, is a key ingredient in the mixing of martinis.

Red vermouths are sometimes referred to as Italian vermouths and white vermouths as French vermouths, although not all Italian vermouths are red and not all French vermouths are white.

WORMWOOD

VERMOUTH

Vermouth is a fortified wine, flavored with aromatic herbs and spices ("aromatized" in the trade) such as cardamom, cinnamon, marjoram and chamomile. Some vermouth is sweetened; however, unsweetened, or dry, vermouth tends to be bitter. The person credited with the second vermouth recipe, Antonio Benedetto Carpano from Turin, Italy, chose to name his concoction "vermouth" in 1786 because he was inspired by a German wine flavoured with wormwood, an herb most famously used in distilling absinthe. The modern German word Wermut (Wermuth in the spelling of Carpano's time) means both wormwood and vermouth. The herbs in vermouth were originally used to mask raw flavours of cheaper wines, imparting a slightly medicinal "tonic" flavour.

TYPES OF TEQUILA

TYPES OF TEQUILA:

There are two basic categories of tequila: mixtos and 100% agave. Mixtos use up to 49% of other sugars in the fermentation process, with agave taking up the remainder. Mixtos use both glucose and fructose sugars.

With 100% agave tequila, blanco or plata is harsher with the bold flavors of the distilled agave up front, while reposado and añejo are smoother, subtler, and more complex. As with other spirits that are aged in casks, tequila takes on the flavors of the wood, while the harshness of the alcohol mellows. The major flavor distinction with 100% agave tequila is the base ingredient, which is more vegetal than grain spirits (and often more complex).

Tequila is usually bottled in one of five categories:

Blanco ("white") or plata ("silver") – white spirit, un-aged and bottled or stored immediately after distillation, or aged less than two months in stainless steel or neutral oak barrels;

Joven ("young") or oro ("gold") – is the result of blending Silver Tequila with Reposado and/or Añejo and/or extra Añejo Tequila;

Reposado ("rested") – aged a minimum of two months, but less than a year in oak barrels;

Añejo ("aged" or "vintage") – aged a minimum of one year, but less than 3 years in oak barrels;

Extra Añejo ("extra aged" or "ultra aged") – aged a minimum of three years in oak barrels. This category was established in March 2006.

PRODUCTION OF TEQUILA

PRODUCTION OF TEQUILA: Harvesting the agave plant remains a manual effort, unchanged by modern farming technologies, and stretching back hundreds of years. The agave is planted, tended, and harvested by hand. The men who harvest it, the "jimadores", possess generations of knowledge about the plants and the ways in which they need to be harvested. The jimadores must be able to work swiftly in the tight rows, pull out the hijuelos (Agave offspring) without damaging the mother plant, clear the piñas (Spanish for pineapples), and decide when each plant is ready to be harvested . Too soon and there are not enough sugars, too late and the plant will have used its sugars to grow a quiote (20–40 foot high stem), with seeds on the top that are then scattered by the wind. The piñas, weighing 40 to 70 pounds, are cut away with a special knife called a coa. They are then shredded, their juices pressed out and put into fermentation tanks and vats. Some tequila companies still use the traditional method (artisanal) in which the piñas are crushed with a Tahona (stone wheel). The musto, (Agave juice, and sometimes the fiber) is then allowed to ferment in either wood or stainless steel vats for several days to convert the sugars into alcohol. Each company keeps its own yeast a closely guarded secret

TEQUILA

Tequila (Spanish pronunciation: [teˈkila]) is a Blue Agave-based spirit made primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, 65 kilometres (40 mi) northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands (Los Altos) of the western Mexican state of Jalisco.

The red volcanic soil in the region surrounding Tequila is particularly well suited to the growing of the blue agave, and more than 300 million of the plants are harvested there each year.

Mexican laws state that tequila can be produced only in the state of Jalisco and limited regions in the states of Guanajuato, Michoacán,Nayarit, and Tamaulipas.

Tequila is most often made at a 38–40% alcohol content (76–80 proof), but can be produced between 35–55% alcohol content (70–110 proof). Though most tequilas are 80 proof, many distillers will distill to 100 proof and then cut it down with water to reduce its harshness. Some of the more well respected brands distill the alcohol to 80 proof without using additional water as a diluter.  

DRAGON BLEU VODKA

Dragon Bleu is a French brand of vodka. It is distilled and bottled in the Grande Champagne area of France from a blend of three grains:wheat, barley, and rye. Dragon Bleu is produced by French distiller Patrick Brisset, who is the former President of the International Centre for Spirits and Liqueurs (Centre International des eaux-de-vie) in Segonzac, France. Dragon Bleu is 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof). It is produced using the water of the Gensac Spring. This vodka fits into the high-priced category.