Flavored Spirits and Liqueurs Flashcards
Flavorings have been added to beverages for centuries in order to cover up flaws or other aspects of production or to preserve the seasonal or beneficial aspects of certain flavoring agents. This deck covers many of the popular styles as well as the various aspects of how the flavor gets used and preserved in the spirit.
Flavored spirit categories based on neutral spirits:
- Flavored vodka
- Akavit/aquavit
- Aniseed flavored
- Bitters
True / False:
Vodka was created with the column-still in the 1800s.
False
Vodka pre-dates the column-still and was not always the highly rectified spirit known today.
What are today’s flavored vodkas mostly based on?
Single fruit flavors.
The innovation for flavored vodka, as it is known today, began when?
In the late 1980s.
At its basic, legal level, what is a flavored vodka?
A neutral spirit to which flavor has been added?
Which style of flavored vodka would be more likely to have color?
Traditional Styles.
What restrictions are there on the production of flavored vodkas in the US and EU?
Very little - can use almost any method to flavor the vodka.
Explain Traditional Flavored Vodka:
Either pre-dates or aspires to a style that pre-dates the flavored vodka boom of the late 1980s.
What is Zubrowka?
Polish brand of vodka flavored with a Bison Grass tincture.
What is zubrowka?
Polish word for Bison Grass.
The distinction is in the branding and use of the term for flavored vodka.
Brand name in the US for the Polish version of Bison Grass vodka?
Zu
Two categories of Flavored vodka:
- Traditional
- Modern
Company that pioneered modern flavored vodka:
Swedish company Absolut.
How does Belvedere Vodka make their flavored vodkas?
They re-distill every botanical individually, then blend these distillates to make the final spirit - similar to how gin is made.
What are the most common type of flavors in modern flavored vodka?
Fruit flavors.
What ingredients are often used to flavor inexpensive flavored vodkas?
Novelty ingredients that taste synthetic and simple, and are often purchased from another manufacturer.
Why do many people look down upon the flavored vodka category?
Inexpensive and low-quality brands dominate the market.
Where do aniseed and similar flavored spirits originate from?
Throughout the Mediterranean.
What is Anethole?
Flavor compounds found in plants used to make Aniseed spirits.
Where was Absinthe traditionally made?
Alpine France
What do drinks containing anethole do when water is added?
When water is added, they go cloudy.
What is louching?
Adding water to a spirit containing anethole and having it go cloudy.
What is Artemisia absinthium?
Wormwood
What flavors does wormwood contribute to a spirit?
A distinct floral aroma, as well as a bitter taste.
What is the only country with a legal definition of Absinthe?
Switzerland
Where do aniseed flavors come from?
- Star anise
- Aniseed
- Fennel
- Any plant that shares the same principle aromas
How can aniseed flavors be incorporated into a spirit?
Either through maceration and/or redistillation.
What is Pastis?
- An aniseed-flavored spirit that must be made with licorice root (also often include aniseed, star anise)
- Can be sweetened up to 100 g/L, and must be bottled at 40% abv
- Anethole levels between 1.5 and 2 g/L
- These spirits were developed after the ban on Absinthe
What is Pastis de Marseille?
Same as Pastis, except…
- Anethole levels must be between 1.9 and 2.1 g/L
- Must be bottled at 45% abv, or more
What are the two steps to producing traditional French Absinthe?
- Botanicals are placed in a pot still with diluted neutral spirit and allowed to macerate for a period of time before redistillation
- Macerating botanicals in the flavored spirit after redistillation - this is where the color comes from, plus more flavors and aromas
What is the best way to serve/taste Absinthe?
By diluting with water (due to the high alcohol content) and adding sugar (due to the fact that it is un-sweetened - and a bit bitter).
What is Thujone?
A toxin found in wormwood and was thought to cause hallucinations, seizures, and other health issues. It has since been proven that this is not the case and most issues were due to chronic alcolism.
Thujone levels as controlled by the US and the EU:
- US - restricted to 10 parts per million (ppm)
- EU - alcoholic drinks using Artemisia can have levels of 35 ppm
Top selling brand of Pastis?
Ricard
What is Ouzo?
- Greek equivalent of Pastis
- Typically made with neutral alcohol redistilled with aniseed and potentially other botanicals
What is Raki?
- From Turkey
- Based on a raisin/grape spirit called suma, which is distilled to a maximum of 94.5% abv
- The suma is diluted, and then is redistilled with aniseed, sweetened, and rested for a minimum of 30 days
What is Aquavit?
- Scandanavian in origin
- Flavored with caraway and/or dill seeds
- Other spellings include: akvavit, akevitt
True / False:
Maceration is permitted for the production of Aquavit?
False
Maceration is not used because it can extract an overly bitter taste from the caraway.
Minimum aging for aquavit in Norway?
- Minimum of 6 months
- OR - 12 months if the vessel is larger than 1000 L
What is taffel?
A type of unaged aquavit.
What is linie aquavit?
Aquavit from Norway that was matured onboard Norwegian trade ships that crossed the equator twice.
What is the minimum bottling strength for aquavit?
37.5% abv
What is Italian for bitter?
Amaro
Why are bitters made with maceration rather than redistillation?
The bitter compounds have very high boiling points and would be left behind in the still.
The sources can include:
- Cinchona bark/quinine
- Gentian
- Bitter orange
- Rhubarb
- Bitter aloe
What are the three common types of bitters?
- Aperitif
- Digestif
- Cocktail
These are assigned based on how the bitters are served.
Describe Aperitif bitters:
Bitters normally drunk as a long drink, and act as a palate cleanser before a meal
Classic examples include Campari and Aperol.
Describe Disgestif bitters:
- Traditionally consumed over ice
- Can be very bitter
- But can also be sweetened (sometimes)
A sweet example is Averna.
A bitter example is Fernet Branca.
Describe Cocktail bitters:
- Never really intended to be consumed on their own - these are very bitter
- A key component to many cocktails
- Adds bitterness, but also complexity to a drink
A classic example is Angostura, but today there are hundreds produced.
Why is maceration the only option when adding flavor to a wood-aged spirit?
Redistillation would cause all of the flavor and aromas from the wood to be left behind in the still - which negates the point of aging.
How are spiced rums typically produced (color and flavor)?
Take an unaged spirit and add…
- Caramel for color
- Bought-in flavorings
- As well as some sweetness
True / False:
In the EU, you can add flavor to rum and whiskey.
False
It is not permissible to add either. These are described as a ‘spirit drinks’ rather than as rums or whiskeys.
Definition of liqueurs:
Spirits that have been flavored and sweetened.
Which two companies are the dominant producers of liqueurs, and where are they from?
- Bols and de Kuyper
- Netherlands
USA: Minimum sugar content for a liqueur?
Minimum 2.5% by weight.
This is about 1/4 of the EU regulation.
EU: Minimum sugar content for a liqueur?
The minimum sugar content of 100 g/L, and bottled at a minimum of 15% abv.
(There are a few exceptions.)
Requirements for Crème de…
- Labeled using the Crème de…followed by the name of the dominant flavoring
- Minimum sugar content of 250 g/L
Requirements for Crème de Cassis…
- Blackcurrant liqueur
- Must have a minimum sugar content of 400 g/L
What is Advocaat?
- Egg-flavored liqueur
- Minimum sugar content of 150 g/L
- Minimum egg-yolk content of 140 g/L
What is Sloe Gin?
- Made from macerating sloe berries in gin and/or sloe juice
- Minimum alcohol content is 25% abv
What is Sambuca?
- Aniseed-flavored liqueur
- Minimum sugar content of 350 g/L
- Anethole content between 1 and 2 g/L
- Minimum bottling strength of 38% abv
Difference between Crème and cream liqueurs?
- Crème de…used to indicated sugar content, and cannot be used for a liqueur flavored with a milk-based product
- Not to be confused with cream flavored liqueurs, such as Baileys
Which fruits can be used to flavor/describe a liqueur “brandy”?
- Prune
- Orange
- Apricot
- Cherry
These spirits are not made using a brandy but with a neutral spirit.
Give three brand examples of Herbal Liqueurs:
- Chartreuse
- Benedictine
- Drambuie
Sambuca is also in this group, but with many producers.
Give three examples of a Fruit Liqueur brand or category:
- Triple Sec (orange, many producers)
- Grand Marnier (Cognac based, brand)
- Cherry Herring (Cherry flavored, brand)
What is true amaretto flavored with?
Almonds
Although most modern amaretto production uses apricot or peach stones to produce almond-like flavor.
What is nocino flavored with?
Walnuts
What is noisette flavored with?
Hazelnuts
Frangelico is a popular brand.
What is kummel flavored with?
Caraway
