Liqueurs

A liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavoured with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks, and sometimes cream. The word liqueur comes from the latin word liquifacere which means "to dissolve." This refers to the dissolving of the flavorings used to make the liqueur. Liqueurs are not usually aged for long periods of time, but may have resting periods during their production to allow the flavors to marry.

In some parts of the world people use the words cordial and liqueur interchangeably. Though, in these places, the two expressions both describe liquors made by redistilling spirits with aromatic flavorings and are usually highly sweetened, there are some differences. While liqueurs are usually flavored with the ingredients listed above, cordials are generally prepared with fruit pulp or juices. Nearly all liqueurs are quite sweet, with a highly concentrated, dessert-like flavour.

Liqueurs date back centuries and historically, they derive from herbal medicines, often those prepared by monks, as Chartreuse [1] or Benedictine. Liqueurs were made in Italy as early as the 13th century.

Today liqueurs are made in every country of the world and can be enjoyed many different ways, including by themselves, poured over ice, with coffee, and mixed with cream or other mixers.

Some liqueurs are prepared by infusing certain woods, fruits, or flowers, in either water or alcohol, and adding sugar, etc. Others are distilled from aromatic or flavouring agents. The distinction between liqueur and spirits (sometimes liquors) is not simple, especially since many spirits are available in a flavoured form today. Flavored spirits, however, are not prepared by infusion. Alcohol content is not a distinctive feature. At 15 to 30%, most liqueurs have a lower alcohol content than spirits, but some liqueurs have an alcohol content as high as 55%, and absinthe can be as high as 85%. Dessert wine, on the other hand, may taste like a liqueur, but contains no additional flavouring.

Liqueurs may be drunk neat, often during or after dessert, or may be used in cocktails or cooking.

There are many categories of liqueurs including: fruit liqueur, cream liqueur, coffee liqueur, chocolate liqueur, schnapps liqueur, brandy liqueur, anise liqueur, nut flavoured liqueur, and herbal liqueur.

Anise liqueurs have the interesting property of turning from translucent to cloudy when diluted: the oil of anise remains in solution when in the presence of a high concentration of alcohol, but crystallizes out of the solution when the alcohol concentration is reduced by dilution.

Floating liqueurs is a technique often used by bartenders to impress their customers. This is done by 'floating' a measure of the desired liqueur in a glass by pouring it slowly over an inverted spoon or down a glass rod. This creates a rainbow effect in a glass when using different colored cordials.