Liqueurs – Occasion to use them “The Dinner Party Cure”

The sweet staple of every bartender, liqueurs can zap some flavour into your favourite moments. The word “liqueur” is derived from the Latin word meaning “to dissolve,” referencing the flavours dissolved in the spirits. These flavours range from fruity to spicy to coffee-based and everything in between. Naturally their usages are just as diverse!

Liqueurs can make their way into nearly every segment of your dinner party. Cooking with liqueurs can add some savoury spike of flavour to complement your favourite dishes: Amaretto for almond, Frangelico for hazelnut, Grand Marnier for orange and Kahlua for chocolate. Experiment to your heart’s content!

Desserts can also benefit from a dash of liqueurs, particularly those with a cream base, such as Bailey’s or its African cousin, Amarula. From cakes to truffles or just poured over a scoop of ice cream, liqueurs can add a fancy touch and taste to traditional desserts.

Of course, liqueurs work best when tasted as they were meant to: in a drink! A perfect apertitif or after-dinner drink, liqueurs boast moderate alcohol content – in the 20% range – which makes for a nice sipping drink on the rocks. Alternatively, a popular after-dinner choice is to give your coffee a little extra kick with a cream-based liqueur to bring out the flavour in the dessert.

That said, liqueurs’ distinct flavours blend well together, giving you the added flexibility to play bartender and impress your friends with a range of tasty cocktails. Most liqueurs are not aged for any great length of time, although their base spirit might be, which is what can provide the extra “oomph” to an otherwise-tame drink.

Easy & Tasty Cocktail: Blue Dolphin

2 oz. Hpnotiq liqueur

2 oz. White Rum

2 oz. Sprite