What's Worth Drinking

Just a note: Since this article was written for Valentine’s Day, my next post is scheduled for this Wednesday. – Cheers, Tyler.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I figured I should probably write about something appropriate for the holiday. So what could be more romantic than a liqueur that is as sweet as a passionate kiss and as smooth as silk?

Today for our Valentine’s Day edition of Saturday Spirits we will be taking on two fruit flavored cream liqueurs. The first is based on the always romantic strawberry, while the second is based on the African Marula fruit, for those looking for something a little more exotic.

When most people hear cream liqueur they automatically think of Bailey’s Irish Cream, but the category is much more expansive, coming in flavors that include chocolate, caramel, coffee, various nuts, flowers, herbs, and of course, fruit. No matter what ingredients go into making them, all cream liqueurs are essentially made in the same way. Sweetened cream is either added to an already flavorful distillate, or is added with flavorings to a base distillate, often rum, whiskey, etc. The possibilities for bases and flavors are endless, making this a great category to explore, so let’s get started.

Spirit #1: Tequila Rose Strawberry Cream Liqueur

Our first spirit is the original Tequila Rose. Since the release of the original strawberry flavor a coffee and a chocolate flavor have been produced, but what could be more appropriate for Valentine’s day than a pink strawberry liqueur? As the name implies, this cream liqueur uses tequila for its base.

To say that this spirit looks, smells, and tastes like alcoholic strawberry milk may be putting it too simply, but it also would not in any way be inaccurate. The aroma is sweet, creamy, and definitely strawberry toned, and only very lightly accented by a faintly floral impression.

The palate is delicate, and subtle, with tones of strawberry and vanilla enrobed in rich creaminess. There is a lightly floral edge and something that tastes a bit like milk caramel, but for the most part the palate is dominated by strawberries and cream. It’s tasty and sweet, with an impressive smoothness that is very nicely balanced by fresh tasting strawberry flavors. This is a fun to sip, easy to like spirit that would go well chilled or over ice, or in a variety of cocktails.

Worth Trying. 87 points.

Spirit #2: Amarula Cream Liqueur

Where to begin with this one? I suppose we should probably start by defining what exactly is in it. Amarula is a cream liqueur made using the Marula fruit as its base. The fruit comes from trees that only grow in Africa, south of the Equator. The trees, also called “Elephant Trees”, cannot be domesticated, which means that all of the fruit for the production of Amarula must be harvested from the wild by locals. The fruit itself is egg shaped, yellow in color, with a creamy, tart flesh that is packed with nutrients.

Amarula is unique in that the fruit itself becomes the alcoholic base for the liqueur. Following harvest the Marula fruits are pitted, mashed, and inoculated with yeast to begin a fermentation. The end result is a completely dry fermented wine, which is then distilled and aged for two years in small oak barrels. Following aging, the Marula brandy is blended with sweetened cream, bottled, and released for sale. The craftsmanship that goes into the production of making this absolutely unique product is enough to make it worth trying, but experiencing it in the glass makes it even more so.

The aroma is creamy, deliciously caramelly, and just as intoxicatingly exotic and tropical as you might expect from a fruit that comes from something called an Elephant Tree. It’s something similar to a combination of banana and papaya on the nose, but a closer comparison would be lychee or mangosteen. A spin in the glass opens up something that seems lightly floral, mixed with a toasty aroma of hazelnuts. It’s very complex, unique, and hard to pin down.

The palate is equally, if not more, nuanced, showing tones of dense caramel and tropical fruit. It’s sweet and deliciously creamy and smooth, driven by the same banana, papaya, lychee, and mangosteen combination of flavors that were introduced by the aroma. Slowly it evolves to show other hints of fine milk chocolate, mixed nutty tones, and a vanilla custard quality. This is a rich, succulent, and simply delicious liqueur with a fascinating balance of flavors that are tropical and fruity as well as caramelly and sweet. I could see this playing a starring role in some creative cocktails, or mixed with coffee, but with this kind of complexity and refinement, I’d say this one is best enjoyed lightly chilled in a snifter.

Worth Buying. 92 points.

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What’s your favorite cream liqueur?