Drambuie is a honey-whisky liqueur from Scotland. To make it, 15 year-old whisky is mixed in with herbs from the Highlands and a special type of honey.
The name “Drambuie” derives from the Scottish Gaelic phrase an dram buidheach, “the drink that satisfies”.
According to legend, the recipe comes directly from Charles Edward Stewart, also known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”.
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The recipe for the crystal-clear spice liqueur is more than 400 years old. It is a strong (35% ABV) root and herbal liqueur which has been produced since at least 1598 in Danzig (Gdańsk). As the name implies, Danzig Goldwater contains real, 22-carat gold shavings. It also contains cardamom, caraway, nutmeg, rose petals and many other spices. Due to the liqueur’s high viscosity, the gold shavings float around in the bottle.
The most prominent characteristic of this alcoholic beverage is small flakes of 22 or 23 karat gold suspended in it. Alcoholic solutions were used by artists for Gilding, which is believed to be the inspiration for the drink. Alchemy, which was at its high point in the late 16th century when Goldwasser appeared, held gold to have many desirable medical properties; while modern medicine disputes this, native gold is known to be non-toxic to humans and to pass through the digestive tract unchanged, unlike most other heavy metals. Since the flakes are extremely small and thin, the price is not prohibitive. When used as a food additive, Gold is labelled as E175; see List of food additives, Codex Alimentarius.
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Cynar is made from artichoke juice, herbs and alcohol. The name comes from the Latin term for the artichoke, “cynara scolymus”. Cynar is an artichoke based bitter. Its distinctive flavour is enriched from an infusion of 13 herbs and plants, making it a completely natural drink, rich in scents and a unique taste . It perfectly conserves all the health properties of the ingredients used in its preparation. Only moderately alcoholic (16.5%) Cynar is a modern and versatile drink that is always welcome.
Cynar was launched on the market in 1952, and its history is closely tied to its successful television advertisements interpreted in the 1960s by Ernesto Calindri. In 1995 Cynar became part of Gruppo Campari that has grown the brand into a “digestif apertif” and a market leader in the “after dinner bitter” category.
Cynar is distributed internationally, its main markets are: Brazil, Italy & Switzerland
You can buy currant juice in most supermarkets or health food stores.
Since the French name for currant is “cassis”, and since things just seem to sound better in French, the juice is often referred to as such.
The currant fruit has been grown and enjoyed for generations in Europe. The Europeans treasure the currant for its full-bodied flavor and rich concentration of vitamins and antioxidants. Because of its wealth of nutrients and taste, the currant is used in the preparation of many European snacks and beverages. In America, the cultivation of currants and the appreciation of currant juice for its flavor and health benefits is growing rapidly.
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Curacao Triple Sec is a particularly dry extract of orange liqueur made from the peel of a certain type of sour-orange. Triple Sec has at least a 5% higher alcohol content than the well-known Blue Curacao and Curacao Orange. Triple sec may be drunk neat as a digestif or on the rocks, but nowadays is mostly used in making cocktails.
Four hundred years ago, the Dutch were some of the world’s greatest traders and, not coincidentally, great distillers. They’d preserve the spices, herbs, and fruit brought home on ships in flavored liqueurs and other spirits. Curacao was one of those liqueurs, flavored with bitter orange peels from the island of the same name. At the time, the liqueur would have had a heavy, pot-distilled brandy as its base.
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Curacao Orange is orange liqueur from the peels of a certain type of sour-orange. It’s named after the West Indian island of Curacao, where this type of sour-orange is almost exclusively grown.
Curacao Orange is often sold under the label “Red Orange”.
Curaçao is a liqueur flavored with the dried peel of the laraha citrus fruit, grown on the island of Curaçao. A non-native plant similar to an orange, the laraha developed from the sweet Valencia orange transplanted by Spanish explorers. The nutrient-poor soil and arid climate of Curaçao proved unsuitable to Valencia cultivation, resulting in small bitter fruit on the trees. But the aromatic peel maintained much of the essence of the Valencia varietal, and the trees were eventually bred into the current laraha cultivar, whose fruits remain inedibly bitter.
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To make crushed ice, place normal ice cubes into a electric mixer and grind them as fine as possible, until you have one large mass of ice.
In tropical drinks, crushed ice is used more often then ice cubes.
Ice cubes are small, roughly cube-shaped pieces of ice, conventionally used to cool beverages. Ice cubes are sometimes preferred over crushed ice because they melt more slowly; they are standard in mixed drinks that call for ice, in which case the drink is said to be “on the rocks.”
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Creme de menthe is a sweet, mint-flavored alcoholic beverage. Herb liqueur made from natural essence of peppermint, sugar and alcohol. It come in two versions, green and white (clear). There is no noticeable flavor difference between the two. Both varieties and are interchangeable in recipes, except where the color is important. Green creme de Menthe obtains its color from the mint leaves or from the addition of coloring, if extract and not the leaves are used to make the liqueur. Crème de menthe is used as an ingredient in several cocktails and is also served as an after-dinner drink and can be used in food recipes as a flavoring. The traditional formula involves steeping dried peppermint leaves in grain alcohol for several weeks (creating a naturally green color), followed by filtration and the addition of sugar. A simple recipe is to mix the creme de menthe with ice cream which creates a mint like shake. Toppings are also sometimes used including nuts, or pecans.
Creme de Cassis, from Dijon, France, is made with black currant juice. Its dark red color makes it an ideal visual ingredient in all types of mixed drinks, like the world-famous Kir or Kir Royal (champagne and Creme de Cassis). You can ask for a different flavored Kir such as peach or raspberry kir, but if you ask for a kir without specifications, you will then get a kir with blackcurrant liqueur.
Blackcurrants are sour and aromatic berries that can be used in the preparation of sorbet, jams, syrups and liqueur. In various forms, it was recommended as an antidote for a lot of ailments. It is rich in vitamin C ( seven times that found in oranges), citric acid (which gives it sourness), potassium, and calcium. In France, they are especially grown in Burgundy. Had it not been for Canon Fix Kir, it would probably have disappeared.
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The lighter variety of choco liqueur tastes a bit sweeter than the brown Creme de Cacao, though it’s also based on cocoa beans and vanilla.
Creme de Cacao exists in two different variations: Dark crème de cacao is dark brown, while White crème de cacao is a clear, colorless form of the same liqueur.
There are so many different drinks that you can make with white crème de cacao. This one liqueur is known for its sweet flavor that has been flavored with both the vanilla bean and cacao bean. Typically, when you see this liqueur it is light colored syrup but it can be seen as dark caramel colored syrup from time to time.
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