Cordials

Question 1

Cordials - Standards

Answer 1

US:
Produced by mixing or re-distilling distilled spirits with fruits, flowers, plants, juices, extracts or other natural flavorings.

Produced to have no less than 2.5% sugar by weight of the finished product.

EU:
A drink produced with a spirit base that is sweetened and flavored with agricultural products such as cream, milk, fruit, wine or aromatized wine.

A drink that has a minimum sugar content between 7-10% sugar by weight of the finished product.

In the US there is no differentiation between cordial and liqueur. However, in the EU a cordial is a non-alcoholic ingredient used in mixed drinks.

Question 2

Cordials - History and Geography

Answer 2

By the 1800’s, cordials began to evolve into a flavorful and sophisticated spirit.

France ands Italy became the primary producers of cordials during the 1800 and remained so until the early 1900’s.

Question 3

Cordials - Production

Answer 3

4 Basic steps:

Base material selection: a base spirit and flavor source is selected along with the method that will be used to infuse the flavor into the spirit.

Flavor extraction: two basic methods to extract flavors. Cold method and Hot method.

Sweetening: after the flavor has been integrated into the base spirit, the cordial is reduced in strength and sweetened. Sweetening agents include sucrose, I fructose corn syrup, rectified grape must and honey.

Finishing: some cordials are left to reveal their natural coloration while others are intentionally colored with naturally derived coloring or approve food dyes.

Most cordials are unaged but some may be barrel aged before bottling.

The usual range of proof is between 30 to 80 proof (15-40% ABV)

Question 4

Cordials - Cold Method and Flavor Extraction

Answer 4

Most effective when flavoring material is sensitive to heat and would therefore be damaged by the hot method.

Four different processes that can be chosen:

Infusion: entails sleeping fruit in a liquid (water or alcohol) in order to extract the flavor.

Maceration: flavor source is cut, crushed and pressed to expose as much of the surface as possible and then steeped in an alcoholic solution.

Percolation (brewing): leaves, herbs and other plant materials are placed in an apparatus that resembles a coffee percolator and the spirit is continuously pumped over and passed through the flavoring material.

Compounding: essences and/or concentrates of flavoring agents are blended into the base spirit.

The water or alcohol eventually absorbs almost all the aroma, flavor and color of the fruit, seed or other flavoring agent. When the desired flavor is obtained, the liquid is drawn off allowed to settle filtered and sweetened.

Question 5

Cordials - Vacuum Distillation

Answer 5

Uses vacuum distillation to extract the flavors. Suitable for delicate flowers and herbs such as mint, roses and violets.

Question 6

Cordials - Hot Method

Answer 6

Sometimes called distillation is used for products flavored by seeds and flowers. These items contain flavors that are harder to extract. Distillation is normally carry down in small to medium sized copper pot stills.

Procedure is as follows:

1. Steeped flavoring agent and alcohol for several hours
2. Placing still with additional spirits.
3. Distill

Question 7

Cordials - Classes

Answer 7

2 main classes: Generic and Proprietary.

Question 8

Cordials - Anise Flavored

Answer 8

Under EU law, must derive flavor from:

Star anise
Green anise
Licorice root
Fennel
Similar plat that contains anethole.

Examples:

Raki
Ouzo
Arak
Absinthe

Question 9

Cordials - Akvavit

Answer 9

Caraway flavored spirit generally produced in Scandinavia. Coloring is allowed so color does not denote age.