Pousse cafe

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A pousse cafe is a kind of cocktail in which the slightly different relative densities of various liqueurs are used to create an array of colored layers. Five, six, or seven layers are customary. Liqueurs with the most dissolved sugar and the least alcohol are densest and are put at the bottom. Those with the least water and the most alcohol are floated on top, example 151 proof rum.

The drink is made primarily as a delight for the eye rather than for its taste. It is sipped, sometimes through a silver straw, one liqueur at a time. The drink must be created and handled carefully, as the layers created will mix together into a brown sludge if handled roughly.

Some bartender guides list a pousse-cafe containing, from bottom to top, grenadine, yellow chartreuse, and green chartreuse as the original layered drink to receive the name "pousse-cafe".

[edit] Reference

Eric Felten. "Neither Shaken Nor Stirred", Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2006, p. 9.