Sambuca is an Italian spice liqueur, where the main flavor is anise, which is obtained from star anise. Sambuca was developed by Angelo Molinari in 1945. Angelo ran a coffee bar in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 1930, but after World War II he moved back to his birthplace in Civitavecchia. In…
In addition to its flagship product Unicum Zwack, Hungarian Zwack company has created a comprehensive range of other liqueurs, herbal liqueurs and palinkas (plum spirit). Traditional Unicum and plum-flavored versions I have already reviewed, but there is also a version flavored with Arabica coffee beans. The coffee-herb liqueur called Barista is…
Alongside the traditional Unicum Zwack herbal bitter, the Budapest-based Zwack distillery has also produced a few slightly lighter versions. Szilva, which means plum in Hungarian, a fruit grown in abundance in the country, has been chosen to bring a new aroma to this most famous Hungarian herbal spirit. In the preparation…
Licor 43 is the most famous and best-selling Spanish liqueur. It was developed in 1946 in Cartagena, southeast Spain. The recipe was created by Diego Zamora's family, who still own and produce the liqueur. As its name suggests, the liqueur contains 43 different herbs, spices, flowers, roots and fruits. The main…
999 (The Nines) is a herbal liqueur made by the Lithuanian company Stumbras. The traditional 999 liqueur was made with a total of 27 ingredients. 9 flowers/leaves, 9 herbs/fruit and 9 roots/plant bark. As is often the case with the successful herbal liqueurs, the producers release different versions of it with…
The French family company Giffard has been producing liqueurs and other alcoholic beverages for decades. Today, they have a selection of more than a hundred different spirits as well as a comprehensive selection of flavored syrups. Roasted coffee beans, neutral alcohol and sugar are used to make the coffee liqueur. According…
Vana Tallinn's cream liqueur series got a newcomer in the summer of 2023. The combination of tiramisu and spicy cream liqueur sounds very interesting. The manufacturer Liviko advertises the product as a "piece of cake in a bottle" and combines the best elements of both Vana Tallinn and the well-known Italian…
999 Herbal Devynia, made by Stumbras, is Lithuania's equivalent to Estonia's Vana Tallinn and Latvia's Black Balsam. The 999 series includes various herbal liqueurs with slight nuances. There is a traditional, lemon-enhanced, hemp-seed flavored and more bitter version. 999 Bitter is, as the name suggests, a drier and more bitter version…
There are two types of cocoa liqueurs, brown/dark made from cocoa beans and light/transparent made from distilled cocoa ingredients. Light cocoa liqueur is usually made from cocoa beans/fat that has been distilled to create a cocoa-flavored, colorless concentrate. The cocoa concentrate is then mixed with alcohol, water and sugar to make…
Maison Giffard is a French liqueur distillery. The company was founded by the pharmacist Emile Giffard in 1885. Emile developed various elixirs to improve digestion in his own pharmacy and launched a clear, transparent mint liqueur as his first product. He offered the liquor to the neighboring hotel and it became…