- A liqueur combines an alcoholic base, flavourings and sugar.
- The base may be neutral or already expressive, such as rum or brandy.
- It is therefore different from a simply distilled fruit spirit, usually much less sweet.
Liqueurs & aperitifs
How liqueurs are made
Three elements to recognise
1 / 2- Maceration extracts compounds from fruit, plants or spices through prolonged contact with an alcoholic liquid.
- The resulting aromatic liquid may be called an infusion.
- In the trade, infusion does not always mean a hot preparation like tea.
- Distilling a macerate collects certain volatile aromatic compounds.
- It does not automatically carry over the fruit's colour: a colourless liqueur may be highly aromatic.
- Compounding directly blends an alcoholic base with extracts or flavouring preparations, sugar and water.
- It does not necessarily involve another distillation.
- Several processes may be combined in one recipe.