Liqueur

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Bottles of strawberry liqueur

A liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavored with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks, and sometimes cream. The word liqueur comes from the Latin word liquifacere which means "to dissolve." This refers to the dissolving of the flavorings used to make the liqueur. Liqueurs are not usually aged for long periods, but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.

In some parts of the world people use the words cordial and liqueur interchangeably. Though in these places the two expressions both describe liquors made by redistilling spirits with aromatic flavorings and are usually highly sweetened, there are some differences. While liqueurs are usually flavored with herbs, cordials are generally prepared with fruit pulp or juices. Nearly all liqueurs are quite sweet, with a highly concentrated, dessert-like flavor.

Liqueurs date back centuries and are historical descendants of herbal medicines, often those prepared by monks, as Chartreuse or Bénédictine. Liqueurs were made in Italy as early as the 13th century and their consumption was later required at all treaty signings during the Middle Ages. [1]

Today liqueurs are made worldwide and can be enjoyed many different ways, including by themselves, poured over ice, with coffee, and mixed with cream or other mixers to create cocktails. They are often served with or as a dessert. Liqueurs may also be used in cooking.

Some liqueurs are prepared by infusing certain woods, fruits, or flowers, in either water or alcohol, and adding sugar or other items. Others are distilled from aromatic or flavoring agents. The distinction between liqueur and spirits (sometimes liquors) is not simple, especially since many spirits are available in a flavored form today. Flavored spirits, however, are not prepared by infusion. Alcohol content is not a distinctive feature. At 15 to 30%, most liqueurs have a lower alcohol content than spirits, but some liqueurs have an alcohol content as high as 55%. Dessert wine, on the other hand, may taste like a liqueur, but contains no additional flavoring.

There are many categories of liqueurs including: fruit liqueur, cream liqueur, coffee liqueur, chocolate liqueur, schnapps liqueur, brandy liqueur, anise liqueur, nut flavoured liqueur, and herbal liqueur.

Anise liqueurs have the interesting property of turning from translucent to cloudy when diluted: the oil of anise remains in solution when in the presence of a high concentration of alcohol, but crystallizes out of the solution when the alcohol concentration is reduced by dilution.

Floating liqueurs is a technique often used by bartenders to impress their customers. This is done by "floating" a measure of the desired liqueur in a glass by pouring it slowly over an inverted spoon or down a glass rod, so that the liquids of different densities will remain unmixed. This creates a rainbow effect in a glass when using different colored cordials.