Let’s agree that there is more to life than wine. True, the statement appears unthinkable at first sight, but it still has the merit of respecting those for whom there is more to life than wine. Especially in these troubled times when there is little peace for war. So what to do with these liqueurs, fruit creams and other distillates infused with various botanical essences? A “parallel world” that must be taken into account, because the offer is vast. A little green mint cream with that to convince you? “Syrop-t-on” so a few specimens!
How to resist this Cream of Cioccolato Gianduia from home Sandro Bottega in the Veneto ($22.55 – 500ml – 11317185)? You would have to be really twisted to raise your nose to this velouté of chocolate-hazelnut essence whose rich flavors are found here, with the addition of a part of grappa, enough to rebound wisely but also warmly in the mouth because of its 17% alcohol by volume. A tradition from northern Italy where greed and refinement go hand in hand, especially if this chocolate cream is served very cold with a slice of tiramisu. ★★★
Baptized this one with a dash of Irish whiskey, the crème fraîche from visibly happy cows in County Cork, in lush southern Ireland, finds, with the Five Farms Single Batch Irish Cream Liquor ($39.75 – 14208523), one of those guilty pleasures that makes you disappear with the bottle during a night out with friends to go sip it alone in another room. Pure selfishness perhaps, but you don’t need to ruminate for long like a bovid to fall in love with the serene smoothness of this butterscotch cream to dilate your teat! Vanilla ice cream ? ★★★★
It has just arrived on the market while having nothing to do with the one my aunt Huguette served to her guests passing through the Quebec Carnival in 1961. Here, mint and small wintergreen from Quebec are combined in a version where the sweetness struggles to balance the character of the two ingredients, which we would have liked more biting, more tonic in terms of freshness. Something to confuse my Aunt Huguette, who liked to combine her little green mint cream with a piece of Laura Secord chocolate. La Mentherie, Quebec mint and wintergreen, Ungava spirits ($35.25 – 14682946 – ★★ 1/2).
Alsace is the birthplace of the best fruit distillates on the planet, whether in the form of eaux-de-vie (minimum of 40% alc./vol.), liqueurs (minimum sugar content of 100 grams per liter and an alcohol content between 15 and 55% alc./vol.), or creams (liqueurs that have more than 250 grams of sugar per litre, but less alcohol than liqueurs). The House GE Massenez offers a battery to stun a hummingbird. Developed in 1870 with distillates, the youngest of which are eight years old, the liqueur of Pear Williams Golden 8 ($63 – 13631151) plays with the balance between the measured tension of the alcohol (here at 25%/vol.) and the fine sweetness evoking the pastry notes of vanilla and caramel, all caressing the palate without the slightest heaviness . The final is a long dream. To be served on ice or in a cocktail. ★★★★
A finger of the raspberry cream of this house GE Massenez ($31.25 – 12721497) on the tip of your tongue or in your champagne flute and here is the supreme delicacy of the small red fruit in question which opens a royal road to your small moments of assumed decadence. We crunch the fruit to be mistaken, so much the creaminess wins, capturing the fruity intensity under a sweetness that in no way alters the dynamics… of sin. The art of crunching the beautiful days of July straight from your glass. ★★★ 1/2
And there is, with the liqueur of fruits Saronia from the Quebec distillery Stadacone ($47.50 – 14810848), great cocktail possibilities benefiting from the essences of rose, strawberry and aronia (berries of a hardy shrub from here) to ignite the imagination. An original nectar for its flavors, coated, warm and lively on the finish. ★★ 1/2