Liqueurs & Cordials
Liqueurs & Cordials
Liqueurs, Cordials, Schnapps, Anise, and Bitters are terms that cover a wide variety of types of spirits. What they all share in common is that they are all flavored spirits.
Liqueurs (also known as Cordials) are sweet, flavor-infused spirits that are categorized according to the flavoring agent like fruits, nuts, herbal and spice blends, creams and others. The word liqueur comes from the Latin liquifacere (“to dissolve”) and refers to the dissolving of flavorings in the spirits. Artificial flavorings are strictly regulated in most countries, and where allowed, must be prominently labeled as such.
Top-quality liqueurs are produced by distillation of either the fermented flavor materials or the spirit in which they have been infused. Many liqueurs use finished spirits such as Cognac, Rum or Whisky as their base. Others macerate fruit or other flavorings in a neutral spirit. Crèmes (crème de menthe, crème de cacao, etc.) are liqueurs with a primary flavor a single, dominant flavor rather than a mix. These cream liqueurs combine dairy cream and alcohol in a homogenized, shelf-stable blend.
All liqueurs are blends, even those with a primary flavor. A touch of vanilla is added to crème de cacao in order to emphasize the chocolate. Citrus flavor notes sharpen the presentation of anise. Herbal liqueurs may contain dozens of different flavor elements that a master blender manipulates to achieve the desired flavor profile.
Liqueurs are not usually aged for any great length of time (although their base spirit may be), but may undergo resting stages during their production in order to allow the various flavors to “marry” into a harmonious blend.
Liqueurs can be hard to classify, but regardless of flavor they can be broadly divided into two categories.
Generics are liqueurs of a particular type (Crème de Cacao or Curaçao, for example) that can be made by any producer.
Proprietaries are liqueurs with trademarked names that are made according to a specific formula. Examples of such liqueurs include Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, and Southern Comfort, Midori, Tia Maria and Tuaca.
Schnapps is a general term used for an assortment of white and flavored spirits that have originated in northern countries or regions such as Germany or Scandinavia. Schnapps can be made from grain, potatoes, or molasses and be flavored with virtually anything (Watermelon and Root Beer Schnapps from the United States being proof of that). The dividing line between Schnapps and Flavored Vodka is vague and is more cultural than stylistic, although European Schnapps tend to be drier and less sweet than their American counterparts and liqueurs.
Anise-Flavored Spirits can vary widely in style depending on the country of origin. They can be dry or very sweet, low or high proof, distilled from fermented aniseed or macerated in neutral spirit. In France, Anis (as produced by Pernod) is produced by distilling anise and a variety of other botanicals together. Pastis is macerated, rather than distilled, and contains fewer botanicals than Anis. In Italy, Sambucca is distilled from anise and botanicals, but is then heavily sweetened to make it a liqueur. Oil of fennel (also known as green anise) is frequently added to boost the aroma of the spirit. Greece has a drier, grappa-like liqueur called Ouzo , which is stylistically close to pastis.
Bitters are the modern-day descendents of medieval medical potions and are marketed as having at least some vaguely therapeutic value as stomach settlers or hangover cures. They tend to be flavored with herbs, roots, and botanicals, contain lower quantities of fruit and sugar than liqueurs, and have astringent notes in the palate.
What is a cordial or liqueur? According to the Webster’s dictionary it is “a spirituous liquor flavored with various aromatic substances, usually sweetened, and often brandy-based. Liqueurs are usually made by steeping the flavoring material in the spirit.” Knowing that they are often brandy-based, it is useful to know that brandy is distilled from wine. As identified, cordials and liqueurs are usually made by adding some flavor to alcohol, via an infusion.
In most of Europe, distilling alcohol for the purpose of drinking is a late period practice, with the main example being brandy (distilled wine), c. 1400-1500. Whiskey was apparently distilled much earlier in fringe areas, like Ireland and Scotland. Brandy is the most likely liquid for most liqueurs to be based on. Of course, distillation was known much earlier, but from an alchemical standpoint.
AQUA VITAE:
Originally whiskey was very different to the refined spirits we have today. It had almost a soupy consistency with a strong smoky flavor from the peat used in the fires to dry the malt. Early stories go back to the sixth century AD, but the earliest documented record, surviving legal reference of distilling in Scotland occurs in 1494, when an entry in the Exchequer Rolls of James IV of Scotland (1473-1513) which note that the King had his aqua vitae distilled from barley by a friar. The rolls listed “Eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor wherewith to make aqua vitae” (water of life). A boll was an old Scottish measure of not more than six bushels. This was sufficient to produce almost 1500 bottles.
The chilled condenser, which is needed in producing high potency alcohol, is a European design from about the 13th Century. Brandy was first distilled about 1300 AD at the Montpellier medical school by medical professor (and alchemist) Arnoldus Villanovanus AKA Arnaldus de Villa Nova AKA Arnaud de Villeneuve. Arnold wrote of aqua vitae and its restorative properties and also of the medicinal properties of various flavored alcohols. Legal documents dating to 1411 mention the distillation of wine into brandy in the Armagnac region of France.
Das Buch zu Destilliern by Hieronymus Braunsweig was printed in 1519. This book, as its title explains, is a book on distillation.
In his Herball or General Historie of Plants (London, 1597), John Gerard says
“There is drawne out of Wine a liquor, which the Latines commonly call Aqua vitae, or water of life, and also Aqua ardens, or burning water, which as distilled waters are drawne out of herbes and other things, is after the same manner distilled out of strong wine, that is to say, by certaine instruments made for this purpose, which are commonly called Lembickes.”
Henry VIII was the first monarch to officially require that the product come only from licensed distilleries. However it was not until 1661 that the first direct tax was imposed.
