IIThe back bar
Liqueurs
Spirit, sugar, flavour. The crowded shelf, and the ones recipes always ask for.
5 min read
A liqueur is a spirit that has been sweetened and flavoured. That's the definition. Most use a neutral base so the flavouring carries the bottle; some use brandy, whisky or rum, and those tend to be the older named brands.
The flavouring can come from almost anywhere, and the categories are worth knowing because they predict how a bottle will behave in a drink.
- Herbs - often with a medicinal past. Mint became crème de menthe as a digestive; thyme was a stimulant and antiseptic; sage was supposed to bring down a fever.
- Barks - cinnamon, sandalwood, angostura.
- Flowers - chamomile, lavender, orange blossom, rose, violet.
- Roots - angelica, liquorice, ginger, turmeric.
- Beans and kernels - coffee, cocoa, almond, vanilla.
- Fruit - blackcurrant in cassis, and every other fruit you can name.
- Egg - yolk, in advocaat.
The ones that turn up in recipes
| Bottle | What it is | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Triple sec | Dry, clear orange liqueur from bitter and sweet orange peel. Sec is French for dry. | Margarita, Cosmopolitan, White Lady |
| Cointreau | A triple sec, made to a higher strength and cleaner. | Anywhere triple sec is called for and the drink is short |
| Grand Marnier | Orange, but on a cognac base rather than neutral. | Where you want weight behind the orange |
| Kahlúa | Mexican coffee liqueur, rum-based, sugar and vanilla. | Espresso Martini, White Russian, B52 |
| Baileys | Irish cream - cream, cocoa and Irish whiskey. | B52, and after dinner |
| Drambuie | Scotch, honey, herbs and spice. | Rusty Nail |
| Amaretto | Almond, usually from apricot kernels rather than almonds. | Amaretto Sour |
| Midori | Musk melon, from Suntory. Aggressively green. | Where you want the colour |
| Frangelico | Hazelnut, from Piedmont. | After dinner, with coffee |
| Galliano | Vanilla-forward, with anise, ginger, citrus and juniper. | Harvey Wallbanger |