LIQUEURS-BITTERS

 

LIQUEUR

 

DEFINITION

 

An alcoholic beverage produced by combining spirits with fruits, herbs and other flavouring elements and containing more than 2.5% by weight of sugar.

 

ORIGIN

 

• Latin word- LIQUIFACERE- means to dissolve or melt

 

• Liqueurs were used as medicine for stomach ailments

 

• Since these medicines were harsh tasting  so they were sweetened with honey

 

 

OTHER NAMES

 

• CORDIAL  --  SWEET (AMERICA)

 

• DIGESTIF  -- DIGESTIVE (FRANCE)

 

 

CLASSIFICATION

 

• Base spirit

 

• Type of flavouring

 

• Method of manufacturing

 

In fruit liqueurs different portions of the fruits like peel, pulps etc are used. In plant liqueurs, leaves, herbs, barks are used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FLAVOURING

                       

 

     

 

Herbs         Fruits                Flowers                        Barks                         Roots                     Seeds

 

 

• Herbs – Basil, Peppermint, Rosemary, Sage, Thistle, Thyme etc.
• Flowers – Chamomile, Lavender, Lily, Rose, Saffron etc.
• Fruits – Berries, Peaches, Oranges, Pineapple, Banana, Raisins etc.
• Barks – Angostura, Myrrh, Sandalwood, Sassafras, Cinchona etc.
• Roots – Angelica, Celery, Ginger, Liquorice, Turmeric, etc.
• Seeds – Aniseed, Pepper, Juniper Berries, Caraway, Clove, Coffee etc.

 

Brandy is the most commonly used base spirits for liqueurs, others being rum, whisky, neutral spirit etc.

 

BASE SPIRIT

                                                                       

 

 

 

Brandy             Rum                       Whisky                      Neutral Spirit                                 etc.

 

 

MANUFACTURING STYLES

 

 

 

   Infusion                        Percolation                         Distillation

 

MANUFACTURING STYLES

 

• INFUSION / MACERATION

 

• Flavourings steeped in high proof spirit (6-8 months) so that the alcohol absorbs the character of the substance
• Flavoured spirit drawn off and filtered.
• Additional spirit is added to adjust the flavour, sweetened, some are aged.

            (in case of delicate fruits like strawberries, raspberries, peaches etc)

 

• PERCOLATION

 

• Similar to coffee percolator.
• Flavouring agents in upper part.
• Spirit in lower part (pumped through the flavourings).
• This continues for weeks or even months
• Flavoured spirit is separated and filtered
• Spirit is added to adjust the flavouring
• Sweetened (in case of vanilla beans and coco pods)

 

• DISTILLATION

 

• in medium sized pot still, similar to gin still.
• flavouring agents first soaked in spirit to soften for 24-48hrs.
• Additional brandy is added and distilled
• sweetened, some are aged (specially in case of plant liqueurs)

 

BRANDS

 

LIQUEUR	COLOUR	FLAVOUR / BASE SPIRIT	COUNTRY
Abricotine	Red	Apricot / Brandy	France
Avocaat	Yellow	Egg, Sugar/Brandy	Holland
Anisette	Clear	Aniseed / Neutral Spirit	France, Spain, Italy
Arrack	Clear	Herbs, Sap of Palm Trees	India, Sri Lanka, Jamaica
Bailey’s Irish Cream	Coffee	Honey, Chocolate, Cream Whiskey	Ireland
Benedictine DOM (Deo Optimo Maiximo)	Yellow / Green	Herbs/Brandy	France
Calvados	Amber	Apple/Brandy	France
Chartreuse	Green & Yellow	Herbs/Brandy	France
Cherry Brandy	Deep Red	Cherry/Brandy	Denmark
Cointreau	Clear	Orange/Brandy	France
Crème de Cacao	Dark Brown	Chocolate, Vanilla/Rum	France
Drambuie	Golden	Heather, Honey, Herbs/Whisky	Scotland
Grand Marnier	Amber	Orange/Brandy	France
Glayva	Golden	Herbs, Spice/Whisky	Scotland
Kirsch	Clear	Cherry/Neutral Spirit	Scotland
Kahlua	Pale Chocolate	Coffee/Rum	Mexico
LIQUEUR	COLOUR	FLAVOUR / BASE SPIRIT	COUNTRY
Kummel	Clear	Carraway seeds/Neutral Spirit	East European Countries
Maraschino	Clear	Maraschino Cherry	Italy
Parfait Amour	Violet	Violet, Lemon peels, Spices	France/Holland
Sambuca	Clear	Liquorice/Neutral Spirit	Italy
Slivovitz	Clear	Plum/Brandy	East Europe
Southern Comfort	Golden	Peaches/Oranges/Whisky	United States
Strega (The Witch)	Yellow	Herbs, Barks, Fruit	Italy
Tia Maria	Brown	Coffee/Rum	Jamaica
Van der Hum	Amber	Tangerine/Brandy	South Africa

 

 

USES OF LIQUEURS

 

• After dinner drink- good for digestion
• Cocktail ingredient
• For specialty coffees
• For making desserts
• For flavouring ice creams and chocolates
• Sorbet can be made with liqueurs
• Served in liqueur glasses (30ml)

 

BITTERS

Generally spirits (and sometimes wine), flavoured and made bitter to serve as an aperitif or for flavouring cocktails.

 

POPULAR VARIETIES

 

• AMER PICON :

BLACK FRENCH BITTER.GRENADINE OR CASSIS IS USED TO MAKE IT MORE ACCEPTABLE

 

• ANGOUSTRA BITTERS :

- MOST FAMOUS

- RUM BASED - BRIGHT RED COLOURED

- GENETIAN ROOTS FLAVOURED

- INVENTED BY Dr. SEIGART

- FROM BOLIVAR

 

• BYRRH :

MADE IN FRANCE NEAR SPAIN.BASE OF RED WINE, QUININE FLAVOURED AND HERBS AND FORTIFIED WITH BRANDY.

 

• CAMPARI :

- ITALIAN APERITIF. FLAVOUR OF ORANGE (CHINOTTO) PEEL AND OTHER HERBS.

- DARK RED COLOURED

 

• FERNET BRANCA :

- ITALIAN ORIGIN

- PRIZED AS A HANGOVER CURE

 

• UNDER BERG :

- GERMAN BITTER

- SOLD IN MINIATURE BOTTLES (20ML)

 

OTHERS

 

• AMORA MONTENEGRO
• RADIS
• UNICUM
• ABBOTS
• PEYCHAUDS
• BOONE KAMP
• WELLING

 

SERVICE

 

• Served in liqueur glasses at room temperature before meal
• Mixed with soda or water and ice
• In cocktails (pink gin) or in coffee
• As stomach reviver and anti hangover

TEQUILA

 

TEQUILA

 

• Believed to be the first spirit made in the Americas
• Jalisco town of tequila
• National drink of Mexico
• Legally made in and around the town of Tequila
• Made from a cactus:  agave tequilana weber / azul

            (also known as the Blue Agave / Century Plant / American Aloe / Mezcal)

 

HARVESTING

 

• Looks like pineapple, locals call pina.
• Harvested by jimadors.
• The spiky leaves are removed to get to the heart of the fruit known as pina.
• It weighs 40-70 pounds.

 

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

 

The plant takes about 10-12 years to mature

â

The ‘pineapple’ is split and oven-steamed

â

Sweet sap (aguamiel) is extracted and yeast is added

â

Fermentation takes about 2½ days

â

Distilled twice in pot still

â

Diluted with distilled water

â

•         Silver (unaged ones are bottled immediately)

•         Aged ones take on a golden hue

 

Composition

 

• By law Minimum 51% blue agave

 

• TWO TYPES

 

• Mixto – It is tequila distilled from wash obtained from a minimum of 51% of agave tequilana sugar and maximum of 49% of other sugar.
• 100% Agave – This tequila has 100% distillate from agave tequila weber.

 

 

CATEGORIES

 

• JOVEN ABOGADO – ‘Young and Adulterated’. Not aged, Not from 100% agave. Example of Mixto.
• BLANCO (Plata/Silver) – Maximum aging 2 months. Generally un-aged.
• REPOSADO (Rested/Aged) – Rested for a period of two months to one year.
• ANEJO (Aged) – Aged for minimum of one year but less than three years.
• EXTRA ANEJO (Extra Aged) – Aged minimum three years in oak casks.
• ORO (Gold) – It is a blend of plata with reposado. Often caramel is added.

 

BRAND NAMES

 

• JOSE CUERVO
• SAUZA
• SAUZA ESPECIAL
• PEPE LOPEZ
• ARANDAS
• 1800
• ESPOLON
• AZTECA
• PARTIDA
• EL TOSORO DON FELIPE
• MONTEZUMA
• CAMINO

 

POPULAR TEQUILA COCKTAILS

 

• LONG ISLAND ICE TEA
• TEQUILA SUNRISE
• TEQUILA CRUDA

 

BRANDY

 

BRANDY

 

DEFINITION

 

Brandy is a spirit obtained from the distillation of fermented grape juice and suitably aged in wood.

 

·        The spirit distilled from any other fruit other than grapes are fruit brandies and must be named after the fruit combined with the name ‘brandy’; e.g. Cherry Brandy, Peach Brandy, Apricot Brandy.

·        These fruit brandies are classified as eaux-de-vie and also known as alcools blanc.

 

ORIGIN

 

·        Distillation of wine started in the 16th century

·        Probably at La Rochelle, a river port (river Charente) on the western coast of France

·        Dutch called it Brandewijn

·        Germans as Branntwein

 

Both of these mean Burnt wine

 

COGNAC

 

·        Of all the brandies produced in the world, Cognac is the most famous and most prestigious.

·        Brandy produced from grapes grown in the vineyards of the delimited district of Cognac, surrounding the ancient town of Cognac, on the Charente river.

·        Modern delimitation done in 1909. A decree made to protect Cognac from intimation and accordingly to get Cognac name, the spirit must be made entirely from grapes grown in the delimited region.

 

THE COGNAC DISTRICT

 

Charente's Sub-divisions (in order of quality)

 

·        Grande Champagne: 14.65% land area

·        Petite Champagne:    15.98% land area

·        Borderies:                     4.53% land area

·        Bois:                           64.84% land area

(Fins Bois, Bons Bois , Bois Ordinaires)

 

 

 

THE COGNAC DISTRICT

 

Climate

 

• Temperate and damp
• Hot summers
• Good rainfall in winters

 

Soil

 

• Chalk and limestone
• More the lime, better the Cognac

 

GRAPE VARIETIES FOR COGNAC

 

All White Grapes

 

• St. Emillion (elsewhere Ugni Blanc)
• Folle Blanche
• Colombard

 

PRODUCTION OF COGNAC

 

Grapes pressed twice, pips & stalks are not crushed (for less tannin)

â

The wine produced is fruity, thin, harsh, slightly acid and unpleasant (8% to 10% al v/v)

â

Fermentation takes up to 10 days

â

Passed through settling bins (Racking)

â

Distilled in alembic = 30% al v/v

â

Distilled again in alembic = 70% al v/v

â

Aged in Limousine oak (rich in tannin)

â

 amber tone, delicate and mellow with

a natural bouquet of grapes

â

Coupage (Blending)

â

Dilution with distilled water

â

â

Colour adjustment with caramel

â

Packaging

 

TYPES OF COGNAC

 

·        Grand Champagne – It is the cognac produced entirely from brandies, made from the grapes grown in Grande Champagne region.

 

·        Petite Champagne – Made entirely from brandies produced from grapes grown in the Petite Champagne region.

 

·        Fine Champagne – It is the blend of brandies produced from grapes grown in Grande Champagne (minimum 50%) and Petit Champagne areas.

 

GRADATION OF COGNAC

 

Ø  the Alphabet System

 

Ø  the Star System

 

Ø  some Legal Terms

 

v  ALPHABET SYSTEM

 

·        C - cognac

·        E - especial

·        F - fine

·        V - very

·        S - superior

·        P - pale

·        O - old

·        X - extra

 

v  ALPHABET & STAR SYSTEM

 

·        Cognac laws is governed by ‘The Bureau National Interprofessionnel Du Cognac’.

 

·        VS or *** - Very Special demand a minimum age of 3 years.

 

·        Reserve / VO / VSOP - Youngest brandy in the blend to be at least 4 ½ years.

 

·        Extra/ Napoleon - Youngest brandy in the blend to be 6 years.

 

BRAND NAMES

 

·        Martell

·        Hennessey

·        Rémy Martin

·        Courvoiser

 

 *These four brands jointly have a 75% market-share

 

BRAND NAMES

 

·        Bisquit

·        Camus

·        Moyet

·        Hine

·        Otard

·        Polignac

·        Salignac

·        Delamain

·        Prunier

 

ARMAGNAC
(second only to Cognac)

 

·        Region – Department of Gers, south-east of Bordeaux

·        Centre of trade – City of Condom

·        Grapes – same as cognac (folle blanche is also known as piquepoul)

 

How Armagnac is different from Cognac

 

·        Soil – best Armagnac's from sandy soil

·        Distillation – in Armagnac Still

·        Proof – Distilled at around 53% al v/v

·        Character – stronger fruity nose & flavour, more pungent and heavier

·        Maturation – in black oak of Gascony

 

 

 

 

 

BRAND NAMES

 

·        Delord

·        Castagnon

·        Larresingle

·        Claverie

·        Mattiac

·        H.A.Sempé

·        Samalens

·        Chabot

·        Laubade

 

MORE DETAILS

 

·        The delimited areas of Armagnac identified in 1909 are Bas-Armagnac, Tenareze & Haut-Armagnac.

 

·        Armagnac is marketed in basquaise, a flagon-shaped bottle.

 

·        Armagnac is the country of the three musketeers, and it is frequently capitalised on for marketing.

 

USES OF BRANDY

 

·        After-dinner spirit – served in a brandy balloon/snifter/inhaler

·        Coffee is laced or chased

·        With hot water – antidote for cough & cold

·        With soda – in a tall glass – any time of the day

·        Flambé

·        Kitchen – puddings, cakes, etc.

·        Mixed drinks