b"S P I R I T SWhat's your flavour?L I Q U E U R S & S P E C I A L I T YL I Q U E U R S : W H A T A R E T H E Y M A D E F R O M ?F rom their NEUTRAL SPIRITRUM SUGAR CANE historical GRAIN, FRUIT ORJUICE OR MOLASSES.development to MOLASSES.todays Famousproprietary brandsmost liqueurs and WINE: alcoholic cordials GRAPE ORWHISKY: BRANDY: have an existing FAMOUSLY GRAPE spirit as their base .FRUIT WINESCOTTISH WINE i n no particular TO GIVEOR OR FRUIT order ,these are SOFTER IRISH. WINEderived From : FLAVOUR.P robably the oldest of all high- always come from these flavouringMIXED & SINGLE HERB OR strength alcoholic beverages,agents rather than from the baseFLOWER liqueurs were originally thespirit. Hence the derivation ofPetals, seeds or roots (for example, preserve of monks who producedthe word liqueur from the Latincaraway, mint, aniseed, violet, rose them primarily for medicinalliquefacere, meaning to dissolveand compounded bitters, which purposes. The first written recordor liquify. According to a 1989have more than 100g/litre of sugar of a liqueur belongs to Kummel inEuropean law, liqueurs must haveadded). 1575, but it was known that certaina minimum of 15% alcohol and a religious orders had been producingminimum of 100 grams of sugarBEANS & KERNELS elixirs for centuries before thisper litre (250g/litre to be calledFor example cocoa beans, coffee date. Some liqueurs sold todaycrmes de fruits). Additionally, theybeans, vanilla pods, nuts. still retain their ancient heritagecan be made with fruits, natural and their recipes are often closelyflavourings, naturally synthesisedDAIRY CREAMS guarded secrets. In some instances,aromas, and flavouringswhere theOften based on Irish whiskey, they are not even written down butfruit molecule has been recreated.brandy, toffee or peppermint. passed on by word of mouth fromHowever, the latter is The range one generation to the next,of liqueurs is diverse and can beMISTELLES while with others, the holders ofbroadly categorised as:Fresh fruit juice with its fruit these secrets refuse to fly on thedistillate and a minimum of same plane as one another! It isFRUIT BRANDIES100g/litre sugar are classified as important to make a distinctionSuch as cherry and apricot brandy.mistelles; in this case the addition between liqueurs and spirits evenDespite being called brandy theseof high-strength alcohol prevents if this distinction can on occasionare not brandies at all; they are bythe juice from fermenting whilst become somewhat blurred. Adefinition liqueurs. A real cherrystabilising the character and natural liqueur is a spirit that has beenbrandy would be a spirit of cherrysugars of the fruit. Some are based sweetened and flavoured, whereassuch as Kirsch. on grapes normally grown to make natural sugars are fermented intowine; such as Pineau de Charentes alcohol and subsequently distilledFRUIT CRMESfrom Cognac, Floc de Gascogne to make a spirit. To make a liqueur,Notably Crme de Cassis andfrom Armagnac and the many one needs something with whichCrme de Peche. Ratafias produced in French wine to sweeten the spirit (generallyregions; and were historically drunk sugar or honey) and somethingCITRUSat the ratification of treaties, these soluble with which to flavour it.For example, triple sec and curaao.are classified separately by the EU.The character of a liqueur will 98 INN EXPRESS - DRINKS PORTFOLIO 2019|20 - LIQUEURS & SPECIALITY"