Crème de Noyaux

Creme de Noyaux (pronounced: [kʁɛm də‿nwa.jo]) is an almond-flavored crème liqueur made from apricot kernels, which also flavor the better-known, brandy-based amaretto. It may also be made from the almond-shaped kernels contained within peach pits.^[1] Both Bols and Hiram Walker produce artificially colored red versions of the liqueur (either of which contribute the pink hue to Pink Squirrel cocktails) while Noyau de Poissy from France is available in both clear (blanc) and barrel-aged amber (ambre) versions. Through meticulous research over a period of several years, Tempus Fugit Spirits recreated in 2013 a 19th-century-style Crème de Noyaux, distilling both apricot and cherry pit kernels, amongst other botanicals and colored the liqueur with red cochineal, as was done in the past. The name comes from the French noyau: "kernel, pit, or core". It is an ingredient in the Fairbank cocktail,^[2] the Pink Squirrel cocktail^[3] and in a cocktail called Old Etonian.^[4]
Creme de Noyaux has appeared in fiction as the vehicle for cyanide poisoning, due to the presence in apricot kernels of aromatic chemicals that break down into hydrocyanic acid when mixed with water. One famous instance of this is the short story, "Bitter Almonds," by renowned mystery author Dorothy L. Sayers. The main character, a wine and spirits salesman, determines that a customer died after drinking the first (oiliest) glass of a bottle of Creme de Noyaux that had stood unopened for 40 years.

References

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