Liqueur

Browsing through some old newspapers I came a cross this article on the origin of Orange Curaçao (Kansas City Star - June 25, 1894). It is an interesting historical account of how orange Curaçao (spelled Curacoa in the article) or Triple Sec (Cointreau) came to be. The original grades of Curacao are detailed and the "green ribbon" variety deemed the best. The green ribbon is a reference… [Continue]

Many people love Irish cream liqueurs, like Bailey's or Bushmill's. These cream liqueurs are gentle and full of flavour, which appeals to a large section of the population. On the rocks or in a coffee, you really can't go wrong. So what makes these liqueurs so special? Well, I'll try to explain but you may be surprised to find that there really isn't anything magical about these… [Continue]

This is another quality liqueur from the house of Grand Marnier. Instead of their flagship product made from the distilled essence of wild oranges and fine cognac, or the vanilla infused cognac called Navan, Cherry Marnier is made from cherries and quality eau-de-vie. This cherry… [Continue]

What is Tuaca? The word on the street is that Tuaca is a super premium, brandy based, Italian liqueur. Now, anytime I hear or read the words “super premium” I become a bit skeptical. What is super premium anyway? Premium should be… [Continue]

Navan is a new product from Grand Marnier that infuses fine cognac with pure vanilla and a touch of sweetness from added sugar. This product is 'designed' for the hip and trendy crowd that revels in expensive products. Aside from the 'reason' Navan… [Continue]

For the last week I've been fixated on the Olympics. I was thinking of taking a look at the Olympic cocktail, but it is a pretty boring drink and doesn't even come close to be as epic as the Olympics. It's just brandy, triple sec and orange juice. You might as well put Grand Marnier in a glass of OJ. So, I decided to dig through my liquor cabinet and see if there was anything interesting… [Continue]

Making classic Tiki drinks isn’t the easiest endeavor. When you start browsing through the drink recipes, trying to decide what to try next, you may often find yourself in short supply of a number of key ingredients. One of them is Falernum, sometimes called Velvet Falernum, which is fairly easy to make, if you can’t find a supplier. The other one is Pimento Dram, which is extremely… [Continue]

Valentines day is a wonderful commercial holiday. If the governments of the world wanted to fix the economy, they’d just make Valentines a week event and everything would be fixed. But alas, only Hallmark had that level of ingenuity. Flowers, chocolate, cards, diamonds and a dinner out now represent the modern definition of love, which is paid in one annual lump sum, due on February 14th.… [Continue]

As I was perusing my local liquor store, I came across a product called Rumona, which is a sweet rum liqueur from Jamaica. I'm personally a big fan of rum, but unless you are buying aged rum, it can be a little hot and hellish to sip straight, or even on the rocks. But, a rum liqueur would… [Continue]

Even before I wrote the maraschino cherry post, a number of people had asked me whether the quantity of cyanide in fruit pits / stones (apricot, peach, cherry, etc.) was significant enough to harm someone and whether there was a way to remove the cyanide from the kernels. Since the world has a fascination with deadly ingredients,… [Continue]