This text is part of the special Plaisirs booklet
They had been collecting dust in our grandparents’ wardrobes for a good twenty years (if not more!): Crème de menthe, peach schnapps, sambuca, pastis, Baileys… These alcohols from another era make a marked return to our tables at Christmas. Zoom on 5 classics of yesteryear updated by the care of Quebec distillers. Cheers !
Isabelle white mint cream
$ 33.50, The Subversives
For many Quebecers, the smell of crème de menthe is closely linked to memories of the Christmases of yesteryear. This is, among other things, what motivated the co-founders of the Sorel microdistillery Les Subversifs, Fernando Balthazard and Pascal Gervais, to develop not one, but three mint creams! “When we started, we found that the choice was not huge at the SAQ, so we set ourselves the challenge of making better mint creams from natural ingredients, without artificial flavors”, summarizes Fernando Balthazard. . From their experiments were thus born a cream of white mint, a green and a rose, all produced from a blend of grain alcohol and locally grown peppermint essence. “It doesn’t taste like mouthwash or mint tea,” he says. A digestif full of freshness and finesse, to be enjoyed plain.
O’Dwyer Pudding Stone Alcoholic Cream Beverage
$ 34, O’Dwyer Gaspé Distillery
Named after the highest mountain in the Gaspé area, Pudding Stone Mountain, O’Dwyer’s cream drink has little to do with the traditional Baileys. First of all, it is less sweet. Then, it contains a typically boreal ingredient: maple-scented milkweed, a small mushroom with the most surprising aromas. “The mushrooms steep in alcohol for a month,” explains Michael Briand, director of sales, communications and marketing at the O’Dwyer Distillery. You have to see the reaction of people when you open the tank; everyone thinks it’s maple syrup! To obtain the typical gourmet notes of Baileys, the distiller Frédéric Jacques then adds a hint of cocoa and coffee to his mixture and, of course, fresh dairy cream, a recipe that he took two years to perfect. “We wanted to create a really elegant cream, which can be drunk on its own, but also on ice, with milk or coffee”, summarizes Michael Briand.
Root anise liqueur
$ 34.50, Iberville Spirits
Each product, designed by Mario D’Amico, makes a little nod to its Italian roots. Launched last year, his aptly named Racines sambuca is no exception. “After amaretto and amaro, it was the logical continuation of the range,” emphasizes the distiller behind the beloved aperitif Amermelade. For Italians, sambuca is a celebration thing, sometimes drunk flambéed, but more often over ice after a heavy meal… or to correct a really ordinary coffee! “By marrying star anise and liquorice root with floral notes of violet and elderberry, Racines anise liqueur is refined and refreshing,” he describes. “Quite humbly, I think this is our most successful product. “
Laurentian pastis La Grande Hermine
$ 50.50, Fils du Roy Distillery
“Spirits from another era have always been a source of inspiration for us,” says Jonathan Roy, who runs this small family distillery located in Saint-Arsène, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent. Renowned for its gardens where many of the aromatics necessary for the production of its fine alcohols are cultivated, the Fils du Roy Distillery has marketed a resolutely Quebec pastis, where the anise taste of Lower Laurentian caraway and the herbaceous notes of agastache. coexist in harmony. “We are lucky to have six acres of land to cultivate our herbs,” argues Jonathan Roy. It allows us to give a Quebec flavor to our alcohols. “
Peach liqueur
$ 28.90, Maison Sivo
Very different from the peach schnapps we know, the peach liqueur produced by Maison Sivo is in line with other alcohols produced in small batches by the Montérégie distiller, including its Liquoriste series, based on berries. Lots of fruit, less sugar. “I don’t know the schnapps recipe, but it’s much sweeter [que notre liqueur]. It has nothing to do ! Exclaims Janos Sivo. Fruit of the maceration of pieces of peaches in alcohol for six weeks, no more, no less, the peach liqueur is tasted as it is, on ice or in iced tea. A little summer freshness in the heart of winter!