Chambord is a French berry liqueur made with raspberries, blackberries and blackcurrants. The berries are first extracted in neutral alcohol for six weeks, after which the juice is squeezed. Cognac, vanilla, honey, sugar, lemon zest and various spices are added to the mixture. The mixture is allowed to stand for a few weeks, after which it is filtered and bottled.

Chambord was developed in 1986 and has since become very popular among bartenders. Today it is owned by Brown-Forman, which also owns for example Jack Daniels and Finlandia. Packed in a stylish grenade-shaped 50cl bottle, Chambord costs around € 15 in Estonia.

The smell is smooth and sweet, with berry and caramel aromas. The taste is sweet and mellow with loads of berry and vanilla flavour. Berry taste is more like jam than fresh or juicy. Vanilla and other spices complement the marmalade-like consistency. Raspberry aroma is rather strong but also is vanilla, which is even too predominant. The liqueur is quite thick (sugar 290g / liter), but clearly at least some of the sweetness comes from the honey. It is not syrupy sweet, the liqueur is easy to sip neat. The taste is very pleasant and it is just a pleasure to enjoy it a small portion. However, due to its sweetness and predominant vanilla aroma, it is clearly at its best in cocktails, where even a small amount is enough to give a lot of raspberry and vanilla nuances.

85/100