Liqueurs and Aperitifs

Liqueur is a vast category which encompasses a variety of quite disparate drinks like bittersweet aperitifs like Aperol, fruity banana liqueurs and Irish cream liqueurs like Bailey’s Irish Cream. By EU and UK law liqueurs must be based on spirits, have a minimum of 15% alcohol and contain at least 100 grams of sugar per litre. The history of liqueurs The production of liqueurs was made possible by the discovery of distillation by Arab scientists probably in the 8th century AD. The technique for concentrating alcohol came to Europe in the 12th century and the first spirits made were used as medicines. These would be flavored with herbs and spices and sweetened with honey or sugar. These botanicals were a good way of disguising the taste of the less than perfectly-distilled base spirit. Monks were at the forefront of European distillation and many liqueurs that are still around, like Green Chartreuse, were created by monastic orders. Types of liqueurs While most liqueurs today are made with a neutral alcohol some are based on more flavorful spirits. Adding herbs, fruit, spices, and sweeteners to whisky, rum and others has a long and illustrious history. In the whisky camp there are such greats as Drambuie, made with honey and herbs, Glayva and, of course, Bailey’s Irish Cream, which is made with Irish whiskey. In the gin camp, drinks like English summer stalwart Pimm’s are based on gin. Sloe gin is also a type of gin liqueur. With rum there are dozens of different ones often flavored with pineapple, coffee or coconut while you can also buy mezcal and Tequila liqueurs. And you can buy Cognac-based liqueurs like Grand Marnier. When it comes to flavoring your liqueur, the world is your oyster. You could even use oysters if you wanted. There are cream liqueurs, banana liqueurs, elderflower liqueurs like St. Germain, nut liqueurs like Frangelico and Amaretto, coffee liqueurs like Tia Maria and Kahlua, and orange-flavored liqueurs like triple sec of which Cointreau is the most famous brand. There are liqueurs flavored with cream, chocolate, fruit, herbs, spices, and honey. There’s even a kind of Mexican liqueur called Pechuga which is flavored with turkey breast. How to use liqueurs Though most liqueurs can be drunk neat, they really come into their own when used in cocktails. There are certain drinks like the Negroni that are built around a certain type of liqueur, in this case Campari, or the Amaretto Sour. And you can’t make a proper Banana Daiquiri without banana liqueur. You can also use liqueurs to experiment with classic cocktails. For example, if you’re making an Old Fashioned, you could use Grand Marnier as the sweetening element instead of sugar.