Liqueur
From cream liqueur to coffee liqueur and from orange to herbs: liqueur is the broadest category on the entire shelf. What exactly it is, which families there are, how it tastes, how to drink it, and which glass goes with it.
The best-known liqueur brands
Four bottles from four different families, all so well known that they can be found in almost every bar.
Baileys
Irish whiskey, fresh cream, cocoa, and vanilla, since 1974 and still the world's best-selling liqueur. Serve chilled, and refrigerate after opening.
About Baileys →Cointreau
French orange liqueur made from dried sweet and bitter peels, bottled at 40% ABV. This makes it dry enough to set the tone in the Margarita and the Cosmopolitan.
About Cointreau →Licor 43
The golden vanilla liqueur from Cartagena with forty-three ingredients. Enjoy it neat over ice, with milk, or as the basis of the Spanish Carajillo with hot espresso.
About Licor 43 →
Kahlúa
Mexican coffee liqueur from 1936 made with Arabica beans, rum, and vanilla. The bottle that made the Espresso Martini and the White Russian possible.
About Kahlúa →Every liqueur listed by brand
16 brands and 24 flavors, each with its own page about taste, cocktails, and the right glass.
Distilled, with sugar and flavor
Liqueur is distilled spirit with sugar and flavor added. That sounds vague, but it is precisely defined: it must contain at least 15% alcohol and at least 100 grams of sugar per liter. If a bottle does not meet that sugar threshold, it is not a liqueur but simply a distilled spirit. That explains why liqueurs vary so widely yet still fall under one heading: everything from a 15% cream liqueur to a 40% whisky liqueur fits within the same rules.
The base can be anything. It is often neutral alcohol, but just as easily brandy, rum, whisky or cognac; Grand Marnier uses cognac, Drambuie uses Scotch whisky and Baileys uses Irish whiskey. Then the flavor is added, through steeping, distilling or blending. We name the families after that flavoring: cream liqueur, coffee liqueur, fruit liqueur, herbal liqueur, orange liqueur and nut liqueur. They share their sweetness and, beyond that, virtually nothing.
One family requires extra attention. A cream liqueur contains real cream, and cream spoils. An opened bottle should therefore be kept in the refrigerator and lasts about six months; ordinary liqueur without cream stays good in the cupboard for years thanks to the sugar and alcohol. If a cream liqueur smells or tastes sour, or you see flakes in the glass, it has gone bad. Never mix cream with cola or orange juice either: the acid makes the cream curdle.
In brief
Six families found on every shelf
Liqueurs are classified according to what provides their flavor. That immediately determines how you drink them, how long they keep and which cocktail they belong in.
Cream liqueur
Real cream mixed with whiskey, rum or a fruit distillate. Smooth, full-bodied and sweet, with vanilla and cocoa. The only family that really belongs in the fridge after opening and has a limited shelf life.
Coffee liqueur
Roasted coffee, sugar and often vanilla or rum. Dark, sweet and with a bitter edge from the coffee itself. The essential half of two classics: the Espresso Martini and the White Russian.
Fruit liqueur
The largest family: passion fruit, peach, coconut, strawberry, lemon or cherry. Distinctly fruity and usually low in alcohol, so they are mainly enjoyed as long drinks with juice or sparkling water.
Orange liqueur
Dried peel of bitter and sweet oranges, usually on neutral spirit or cognac. Higher in alcohol than most liqueurs and therefore the staple flavoring in shaken classics.
Herbal liqueur
Herbs, roots, peels and often honey. Bittersweet and complex, with a herbal bitter like Jägermeister at one end and a whisky liqueur like Drambuie with heather honey at the other.
Nut liqueur
Almond, hazelnut or walnut, often with marzipan and apricot kernel notes. Sweet and dessert-like, and that sweetness comes surprisingly well into balance in a sour with lemon juice.
There are also chocolate, caramel, anise and egg liqueurs, plus the bittersweet aperitifs from the Italian section.
Sweetness is the only constant
Bold and sweet
A liqueur smells like its flavoring and little else: coffee, passion fruit, orange peel, almond or cream. The alcohol stays in the background because its level is low and the sugar softens it.
Full, smooth and syrupy
Because of the sugar, liqueur feels thicker than unsweetened spirits. That is precisely what it does in a cocktail: besides flavor, it adds body. A cream liqueur is the softest here, while an orange liqueur is the crispest.
Lingers
Sugar holds on to flavor, so the finish lasts longer than with gin or vodka. Herbal liqueurs leave a slightly bitter edge, while fruit liqueurs instead bring a tart note that clears away the sweetness.
Average profile across the entire category. A cream liqueur scores higher on sweetness and lower on strength; an herbal or whiskey liqueur at 40% scores around 4 for strength and around 1 for fruitiness.
Three ways to drink liqueur
Liqueur is rarely a bottle you finish on your own. Neat over ice, as a long drink or as the sweet half of a cocktail: all three work, as long as you keep the measure small.
Neat over ice
4 to 5 cl in a small stemmed glass, or over two large ice cubes in a tumbler. Chilling softens the sweetness and makes a liqueur much easier to drink. Serve cream liqueur chilled straight from the refrigerator; herbal or whiskey liqueur is actually better at room temperature.
The right glass →As a long drink
3 cl of fruit liqueur with about 15 cl of orange juice, pineapple juice or sparkling water, in a highball glass filled with ice. This is how Safari, Passoã and Malibu are most often served. Be careful with cream liqueur: it curdles in orange juice and cola.
Malibu cocktails →In a cocktail
In a cocktail, liqueur is almost never the base but the flavor maker: 1 to 2.5 cl alongside the spirit. Cointreau does that job in the Margarita and the Cosmopolitan, Kahlúa in the Espresso Martini and Passoã in the Pornstar Martini.
Espresso Martini recipe →The best-known cocktails with liqueur
Almost every classic cocktail contains liqueur. Often inconspicuous, sometimes in the leading role. These are the four to start with.
Espresso Martini
Vodka, fresh espresso and coffee liqueur, shaken hard to create the layer of foam.
Margarita
Tequila, lime juice and triple sec. The cocktail in which the liqueur keeps everything balanced.
Pornstar Martini
Vanilla vodka, passion fruit and passion fruit liqueur, with a shot of prosecco on the side.
Sex on the Beach
Vodka, peach liqueur, orange juice and cranberry. The long drink of the eighties.The right glass for liqueur
A small stemmed glass for neat drinks, a tumbler when adding ice, a coupe for shaken cocktails and a long drink glass for fruity mixes. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about liqueur
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