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| Neelu browsing Liqueurs in Aquitaine (France) |
Recently
back from a trip from Europe, Neelu placed four bottles of liqueurs/bitters in front of me to choose
one for keeps. Two of these- viz Jägermeister and Fernet Branca had gotten my
hands dirty umpteen times earlier but two- Valamon Balsami and Lapponia Lakka were complete strangers. Sensing my dilemma, Neelu generously offered
to open up the newbies for a quick faire
connaissance (to my pleasure of course) - and we got cracking soon enough.
A brief
snapshot on Liqueurs before we look at
the adventure as above. The term Liqueur essentially comes from Latin liquifacere , which means “to liquefy” . In essence, it implies flavours
in liquid form that could be used conveniently in several applications. It all
started with monks and seers extracting potions that could cure many a disease,
and very soon these caught the fancy of the elite in late middle-
renaissance period, eventually becoming the toast of bartenders of the modern
era who suddenly discovered a potent
tool to whip up intriguing cocktails. In today’s context, the European Union
Spirits Regulations stipulate a sugar content of 100 gms per litre (lesser in exceptional
cases) and 15% alcohol by volume for an
alcoholic drink made for human consumption, to be called a Liqueur. But the
incorporated subjectivity gives ample room to tweak this definition by
producers, thus fuelling innovation , much to the consumer's delight!
Liqueurs
essentially fall into three broad categories; Herbal, Fruit and Cream. Depending
on personal preferences, these could be used as aperitifs (before meals),
digestifs (after meals) or blended into cocktails. Some popular liqueurs are:
Herbal:
Chartreuse, Benédictine, Galliano, Campari,Angostura and Fernet-Branca (our star here).
Fruit: Blue Curaçao, Grenadine, Crème de Cassis,
Framboise, Midori etc.
Cream:
Bailey’s Irish Cream, Amarula, Advokaat etc.
Coming
to our tasting, we sampled the liqueurs as standalone followed by experimenting with some cocktail- known as well as fresh innovations. Here is how it progressed:
Jägermeister
Packaging: 500 ml
ABV 35%
The emblem of a Stag with a shining cross is one of the most recognizable logos in the liqueur
world and has its genesis in Hubertus- the patron saint of hunters giving up
his passion when a spear launched by him got stuck between a Stag’s antlers with a cross appearing in its place. Popularised by its patented tap
machines that serve chilled Jäger shots
as also exciting cocktails like Jäger bomb, it is an easy to drink liqueur
which can go it alone owing to its balanced flavours and sweetness.
Tasting
Notes: A luminescent brown colour with an orange rim and prominent aromas of
liquorice and pepper. An energetic palate of liquorice, green herbs and spices
coupled with a pleasant sweetness.
Cocktail
Recipe
Jäger Bomb
45 ml Jägermeister,
half a can of Red Bull energy drink. Pour chilled Red Bull in a highball
glass so as to fill up till 3/4th . Pour super chilled (in the freezer) Jägermeister
in a shot glass and gently drop the shot glass into the highball glass (to
create a bombing effect) and savour immediately.
Fernet Branca
Packaging: 500 ml
ABV 39%
Widely acclaimed as
the most famous bitter of the world, Fernet Branca comes from Fratelli Branca-
a Milan (Italy) based company that was founded by Bernadino Branca in early nineteenth
century. The liqueur was a result of his perfecting a recipe by a Swedish
doctor called Fernet as remedy to a cholera epidemic in 1836, but went on
general sale in 1845 due to its ever increasing popularity as an aperitif.
Currently in the fifth generation of the family enterprise, Fernet Branca
remains a popular high in demand liqueur with bars as well as connoisseurs
across the world.
Tasting
Notes: An amber-brown colour with a
distinct yellow rim. The nose has prominent mint, juniper and rhubarb aromas
and a palate of complex herbal flavours with a long mint dominated finish. Not
for the faint hearted as an aperitif, but can be a miracle ingredient
in cocktails. Having devised several of my own cocktails with Fernet, I am listing the most popular one by far.
Cocktail Recipe
Beer ‘n’
Grin
A pint of chilled lager, 10 ml Cointreau, 5 ml lemon juice, 3 ml Fernet Branca, 3 ice cubes.
Put
the ice cubes in a high ball glass and pour over the ingredients with last
being the beer. Give a light stir and
serve garnished with a lemon spiral.
Valamon Balsami Munkkilikööri
Packaging: 350 ml
ABV 30%
The name looks overwhelming but look closer and its quite simple as Munkki means Monk and Likööri is Liqueur in Finnish. This and
the next liqueur are the ones you may not commonly come across outside the
Nordic region (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway) as they are quite
unique in terms of ingredients and the climatic conditions under which
produced.
Valamon Balsami
Munkkilikööri is a spicy herbal liqueur from the Valamo monastery of the
Finnish Orthodox Church. The monastery is a popular destination for visitors to
Finland, getting close to 1,60,000 visitors a year. In the traditions of the
church, the monastery produces various wines and liqueurs of distinct
characters.
Tasting
Notes: A muddled brown colour with an amber rim. A complex nose of mixed spices and herbs and a pleasing
sweetness on the palate accompanied by a lingering finish.
Cocktail
Recipe: Did not try a cocktail with this one, since it worked ideally as a digestif. But I guess
it would also go well with tonic water .
Lapponia Lakka
Packaging: 500 ml
ABV 21%
Another one
from Finland, this is a liqueur from
Cloudberries, a fruit typical to the Arctic region that are considered a rich source of vitamins and minerals.
Tasting
Notes: A sweet spicy nose and a palate of honey, quince and white peppers.
Sweetest of the lot but with well balanced acidity that in my opinion qualifies
it as a good digestif.
Cocktail
Recipe: 60 ml Gin, 30 ml Lapponia Lakka, 5 ml lemon juice, tonic water. Pour
over lots of ice.
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| Cloudberries |
So which one did I select for keeps? Fernet-Branca for two reasons. First- I was out of supply of this staple ingredient of my home bar and second- I did not want to take undue advantage of Neelu’s generosity by appropriating the exotic liqueurs he so painstakingly ferried across the oceans. After all ethical conduct is a known virtue of tipplers- isn’t it?
