What’s in that ‘Liqueur’?
They are technically a sweetened & flavoured Liquor. Their origins of some of them are interesting and the substance gives them their unique flavour.
Absinthe: was invented in 1797 by Dr Pierre Ordinaire. It was one of the first liqueurs to be advertised. It was shrouded in controversy due to one of its ingredients-wormwood. It gained notoriety because of the ’ Absinthe Murder’- Jean Lanfray, a labourer was convicted of murdering his wife and two children in a drunken rage, supposedly after having two shots of Absinthe. It was banned in USA in 1912, followed by many other countries.
Tia Maria: gets its name from a Jamaican aunt ‘ Tia Maria’. It is one of the most popular coffee Liqueurs in the world. According to legend, a young girl was separated from her family during the colonial wars. Her maid Maria managed to save some of her possessions, one of which was a small treasure box which contained the secret recipe.
Pernod: was created by Henri Louis Pernod. Initially it contained wormwood which was later removed because of wormwood’s depressant properties. Picasso’s painting ‘The Glass and the Bottle’ featured this liqueur’s bottle in cubist mode.
Grand Marnier: was created by Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle in 1880. It is one of the most popular liqueurs of all time. Auguste Escoffier- famous French Chef & Culinary writer used it as an ingredient for his masterpiece ‘Crepe Suzette’. This dish was created in honour of then Prince of Wales ( and future king) Edward VII. Cesar Ritz was so impressed that he introduced it at his hotels. It is mostly drunk as an after dinner drink or is used as an ingredient for premium cocktails.
Chartreuse: is a French Liqueur available in green and yellow versions that differ in taste and alcohol content. Initially manufactured as a medicine by monks in 1737. Napoleon tried to seize the recipe by claiming it for the ‘Secret Recipes Commission’. The idea was dropped as the recipe was too complicated. This herbal drink was the preferred drink of the nobility. Tsar Nicholas II was an addict to this Liqueur.
Creame de Cassis: is a blackcurrant flavoured liqueur It was made popular because of its presence in a cock tail called ‘Kir’. It was named after Canon Felix Kir- a french priest, mayor, politician and resistance fighter.
Angostura Bitters: The quest for an herbal medicine led Dr J.G.B. Siegert, an army surgeon to Venezuela. He ended up creating this word’s aromatic bitters. Contrary to popular belief, this liqueur gets its name from a town in Venezuela and not from Angostura bark. Incidentally there Is no Angostura bark in the recipe. The exact formula though is a closely guarded secret with only one person knowing the recipe, passed hereditarily.
Midori: One of the relatively new Liqueurs. This Japanese product was launched in the USA at Studio 54, New York in 1978. It was associated with the movie ‘ Saturday Night Fever’. This green liqueur has featured in many official cocktails of prestigious events like 1984 Summer Olympics and various IBA- International Bartenders Association Meets.
Drambuie: has a rich and colourful history. Get its name from the Gaelic ‘A Dram Buidheach’ or ‘the drink that satisfies’. It is generally referred underneath a Drambuie advertisement- ‘ prepared from recipe of the 45’. The ‘45’ refers to the fact that Bonnie Charles, who had the initial recipe came to Scotland from Italy in 1745. The first bottles of this exquisite Liqueur went into sale in 1908 and weathered many storm including when then Prime Minister Lloyd George’s move to increase tax on whisky products.
Benedictine: was made during the Renaissance by a Venetian Monk ( using 27 herbs). It gained instant popularity amongst the French nobility. However during the French revolution and its aftermath, the recipe was thought to have been lost for forever. It was, by chance that Alexander Le Grand- a wine merchant and an industrialist, found the recipe book in a library in 1863. The book containing the recipe was by a monk in 1791. How he was oblivious to its content. You will find the sign ‘DOM” in every Benedictine bottle. It means ‘Deo Optimo Maximo’ or ‘to God, Most Good, Most Great’.
LIQUEUR
MAIN INGREDIENT
Crème De Cassis
Blackcurrant
Cointreau
Orange
Malibu
Coconut
Tia Maria
Coffee
Cachaca
Sugarcane
Amaretto
Almond or Apricot
Quetsch
Plum
Midori
Melon
Sambuca
Aniseed
Maraschino
Cherry
Warning: Drinking of Alcohol may be injurious to heath but studying or reading its history is NOT.