liqueur

[French, from Old French licour, a liquid. See liquor.]

For more information on liqueur, visit Britannica.com.

Distilled, flavoured, and sweetened alcoholic liquors, usually 20-40% alcohol, 20-30% sugar.

[lih-KYOOR; lih-KER] A sweetened spirit flavored with ingredients like seeds, fruits, herbs, flowers, nuts, spices, roots, leaves and barks. The base can be brandy, rum, whiskey or other spirit and may be flavored in four ways: distillation-alcohol and flavoring agents are blended before being distilled (see distillation); infusion- flavorings are steeped in hot water, which is then mixed with the alcohol base; maceration-flavoring agents are steeped directly in the alcohol base; percolation-alcohol is dripped through the flavoring agents to extract their essences. Proprietary liqueurs (such as bénédictine, galliano and southern comfort) are made exclusively by specific liqueur houses with secret formulas, some of which have been closely guarded for centuries. Generic liqueurs (like amaretto and crème de cacao) are made by various producers using fairly standard recipes. Quality brands are typically flavored with the finest ingredients, essential oils and extracts; less expensive examples often use artificial flavorings. Cream liqueurs are flavored mixtures that have been homogenized with cream. They have a rich mixture that's velvety smooth and creamy, and they require no refrigeration. Crème liqueurs (such as crème de menthe) are distinguished by being sweet and syrupy. Liqueurs range widely in alcohol content, generally from about 15 percent (for some irish cream liqueurs) to 55 percent (green chartreuse), although a few "baby liqueurs" like Kahlúa Mudslide contain only 6.5 percent alcohol. Although the word "liqueur" is common usage today, such potables are also called cordials and, less frequently, ratafias. Liqueurs were originally used (and some still are) as a digestive. They are now usually served after dinner but also play an important role in many cocktails. Liqueurs can also be used in cooking, particularly for desserts. See also absinthe; advocaat; anesone; anisette; chéri-suisse; cointreau; crème d'abricots; crème d'amande; crème d'ananas; crème de banane; crème de cassis; crème de cerise; crème de noyaux; crème de rose; crème de violette; curaçao; drambuie; eau de vie; frangelico; glayva; goldwasser; grand marnier; herbsaint; irish mist; izarra; kahlúa; kümmel; mandarine liqueur; maraschino; midori; ouzo; pernod; prunelle; rock and rye; sabra liqueur; sambuca; sloe gin; strega; tía maría; triple sec.

Herbal liqueur produced in Austria and bottled at 38% ABV.

Bottles of homemade strawberry liqueur.

A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long 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^{[citation needed]}. Though in these places the two expressions both describe liqueurs 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.

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]

Nowadays, liqueurs are made worldwide and are served in many ways: by themselves, poured over ice, with coffee, mixed with cream or other mixers to create cocktails, etc. They are often served with or after a dessert. Liqueurs are also 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 15-30%, 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.

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

Layered drinks are made by floating different-coloured liqueurs in separate layers. Each liqueur is poured slowly into a glass over the back of a spoon or down a glass rod, so that the liquids of different densities remain unmixed, creating a striped effect.

The word liqueur comes from the Latin liquifacere (“to liquefy”).

See also

• List of liqueurs
• Cream liqueur
• Crème liqueur
• Dessert wine
• Nalewka
• Sloe gin
• Cordial

Notes

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

1. ^ Ford, Gene. ABCs of Wines, Brews, & Spirits. Seattle, Washington: Murray Publishing Company. p. 166. ISBN 0931754178. 

External links

Look up liqueur in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Media related to Liqueurs at Wikimedia Commons
• Comprehensive coverage of most liqueurs

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - likør

Nederlands (Dutch)
likeur

Français (French)
n. - liqueur

Deutsch (German)
n. - Likör

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ηδύποτο, λικέρ

Italiano (Italian)
liquore

Português (Portuguese)
n. - licor (m)

Русский (Russian)
ликер

Español (Spanish)
n. - licor

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - likör

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
利口酒

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 利口酒

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 리큐르(달고 향기로운 독한 알콜 음료)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - リキュール

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) شراب مسكر معطر وعادة محلى‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮משקה אלכוהולי חזק ומתוק, ליקר‬

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