Cordials
 

I’ve started getting back into an after dinner cordial after giving them up years ago.

Favorites from the past:

Drambuie - all honey and scotch and herbal.
Cherry Heering - Mrs BV kind of spoiled it by telling me it reminded her of cough medicine
Vandermint - chocolate mint. What’s not to like?

i went shopping after my FIL and I killed a couple old bottles. I was disappointed with the poor selection at Publix and will be looking next week at ABC. The FIL is a Gran Marnier drinker. I was surprised at the many orange flavored cordials on the shelf. I bought 2 bottles.

Tia Maria - coffee liquor from Italy that my parents used to enjoy
Licor 43 - Spanish vanilla and orange and honey. The jury’s still out on this one.

Recommendations? Your favorites?

Cordial obviously has a different meaning in the US. In UK & Ireland it refers to a fruit juice concentrate.

i think the closest description would be a digestif or a liqeuer?

My wife is partial to a Baileys, my father back in the day would be a Drambuie and my mother a Cointreau. I’d drink a Limoncello if offered (has anyone ever ordered and paid for Limoncello rather than given on the house?). But the only digestif I’d order would be a brandy or an armagnac.

i have a friend who loves Poire William.

My preferences would be, in order:

1. Cognac
2. Armagnac
3. Brandy (primarily from Germain-Robin)
4. Johnett from Etter

I find Licor 43 to be too sweet. I'll tolerate Grand Marnier with the right amount of ice, but I'd rather have it mixed into a sabayon and dolloped over some fresh berries. (I've never gotten into ouzo, sambuca, etc. I don't really like that flavor profile, but probably also traces back to some bad experiences in college. <shudder>)

My parents have always liked Bailey's but I find it to be a bit...generic and chemical-y. So I've gotten them drinking Amarula instead.

In addition to Drambuie, I also keep B&B and Tuaca around. But for something with an oomph, I always go with a good amaro.

Some that I commonly find on the shelf are most likely used in other concoctions. Amaretto, anissette, Creme de menthe, Kahlua may all be drunk by themselves but are more likely to be found mixed with other ingredients. Even Drambuie can be mixed with scotch for a rusty nail, although I had way too many the night before my wedding 44 years ago and am unable to face another yet.

Another wedding? :D

I am going to inherit a bottle of Vandermint one day - it is a ceramic bottle, older than I am. We don't dare open it, as who knows what might combust out of there. But it is a very pretty bottle!

Call me boring, but for a digestif I just like some scotch...or maybe a cognac. Once in a great while maybe some fernet.

I don't drink cordials/liqueurs by themselves as they tend to be too sweet for me.

I started making my own version of Bailey's a few years ago around the holidays and the bottled versions simply cannot compare to the deliciousness of a freshly blended batch :)

If you post a recipe, maybe I can find a way to make something I can drink. Baileys has dairy in it which I cannot digest. But substituting say, coconut cream, might work for me.

Many years ago, Chambord advertised on billboards: Cognac + Chambord + Chauffage

Warm over a candle a mix of Chambord and French brandy. Delicious

Maraschino ~ very good over ice, no cough syrup aftertaste.
Creme de Cassis ~ Kir/Kir Royale classic.
Marie Brizard Apry ~ Apricot Sour due to make a stylish comeback.
Fragoli Wild Strawberry ~ tiny berries in the bottle~ what's not to love.
Poire William(s) ~ or any fruit eau-de-vie~ crisp. Nice to sub for gin or vodka in a cocktail.

Fingers crossed that I can find more than one of those. The wild strawberry sounds incredible.

I thought a fruit juice concentrate was called a shrub. Maybe I have that wrong - running to Wikipedia. Nope. Squash was the word I was looking for.

Luxardo Maraschino should be easy to find. Straw-wrapped bottle.
There are American craft distillers that offer similar products to the imports.
I forgot Mandarine Napoleon~ more tangerine than orange, which is a nice change from Grand Marnier.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1fb1366c4.jpeg
I enjoy Amarula with coffee, a lot tastier than Bailey's. Above is Finnair J HEL-JFK. Aside from them I know SAA carries it (obviously), would be nice to know which other carriers have it.

Shrub is fruit syrup with vinegar. Apparently it was popular in the 19th century.

Never heard of it. Is it imported by Vandelay Industries?

Makes an awesome alcoholic milkshake. Also a pretty good carajillo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carajillo

Possibly. They may have stopped importing it to the US about the time Seinfeld went off the air. Comes from the Netherlands. I will be looking for some if I’m ever allowed to travel again.

Last summer I enjoyed a lovely cocktail of a housemade shrub and Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit and Rose.
On offer were two different shrubs~ one made with red fruits, the other citrus. Very easy to make at home
I tried a mockail with sparkling water~ the Ketel One was so much better.

Hardly a cordial! But that vodka is tasty. I enjoy it with soda and a grapefruit slice.

I went unto the ABC store (Florida private chain with >100 shops) and the cordial selection was quite poor. I ended up bringing home a bottle of limoncello which is satisfying for now but I crave more. I’m going to have to look into getting things shipped to me.

What exactly are you looking for?

I picked up the last bottle of Drambuie from my local liquor store over the weekend.

(If you never used Drizly to get booze delivered to your home, then use promo code TRYDRIZLY for $10 off your first order. DISCLAIMER: I have no vested interest in the business, and this is a general (not referral) code.)

Any of the ones Orchids posted upthread would interest me. Something with berries or cherries sounds nice.

I have just subjected the SF Bay sewer system fishies to instant diabetes. I bought a couple of items today for some interesting cocktails and took a peek in the bottom shelf cabinet where some cordials and related spirits have been hiding for years. I opened them all, smelled and tasted most, spit out everything I tasted, and sent the remainder of the contents down the drain. These were:

Triple Sec - age unknown, barely any discernible flavo(u)r - maybe a hint of orange left.
Creme de Cacao - age unknown, barely a hint that some chocolate once lived in there.
Campari Cordial - I think I had it when I moved here, 19 years ago. Some thickened syrup went down the drain.
Creme de Banana - maybe the least disgusting of the bunch, and perhaps the newest. I do recall purchasing it for some recipe once upon a time, maybe a cooked fruit dessert.
Apple Pucker - it had a caramel (not green) colo(u)r and an odd smell. Someone must have once come over and made green appletinis or something.
Peach schnapps - ok, maybe the really least disgusting, and do not recall who brought it and left it here. Or maybe I flambeed it with something. Anyway, it now swims with fishes, if the sewer rats and flies don't consume it before the wastewater treatment plant.

These have been replaced with the following, for two interesting cocktail recipes:
1) Allspice dram
2) Creme de Cacao (Drillaud brand)

My house now weighs less, and will weigh even less than that when 6 glass bottles go out to the street next Thursday. Two of the bottles had actual price tags on them, one was $3.99.

Blue and white faux Delftware, tulip shaped cap? My parents had one like that.

Baileys and Amaretto mix nicely.

Drambuie ages well.

Chartreuse has been hard to find since Covid.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/dini...l#post36352212 (Posts # 1892 & 1898)

I LOVE Amaretto (Disaronno) in coffee. Baileys is what people gravitate to for that, and don't get me wrong, its good, but nowhere near as good as Amaretto and coffee IMO.

On the cordial/liqueur note, about a year ago I added St Germain to a typical Gin & Tonic and it really enhances the drink - the Elderflower and the botanicals in the gin combine to create a more elegant (and fragrant) version of a G&T and as a result, that's how I have been making G&Ts ever since.

I have added St. Germain to a margarita 🍹. Good stuff.

Yup! And mine still do.

After Dad died, one of my brothers cleared out the very extensive liquor cabinet. I can guarantee you every bottle was empty in under 60 days :rolleyes:.

St Germaine became very popular 10ish years ago .... a local bartender commented to me that it was like the ketchup of the cocktail world

If you want the taste of elderflower without the added alcohol, Ikea sells elderflower juice concentrate.