Made from a distilled spirit that has been flavored with fruit, cream, herbs, spices, nuts or flowers, liqueurs—also known as cordials—are typically quite sweet from added sugar.
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Amaro
Italian for “bitter,” this Italian style of herbal liqueur is commonly drunk as a digestif, though it is also used in many cocktails.
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Benedictine
Made by Benedictine monks, this French liqueur is made with 27 plants and spices, including angelica, hyssop and lemon balm.
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Blue Curaçao
This version of a classic orange liqueur is transformed by blue a food colorant.
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Coffee Liqueur
Dark and syrupy, this liqueur is made from a neutral spirit infused with coffee beans.
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Crème de Banane
This clear yellow liqueur with the flavor of sun-ripened bananas is often enhanced with a touch of vanilla and a hint of almond.
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Crème de Cacao
This liqueur flavored with cacao (coco) beans is often scented with vanilla.
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Crème de Menthe (green or white)
Flavored primarily with Corsican mint or dried peppermint, this liqueur is often served as a digestif or used in cocktails.
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Chartreuse
This liqueur, available in natural green and yellow versions, is made by French monks from a complex maceration of 130 plants and aged in oak casks.
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Elderflower
This liqueur is flavored with the delicate floral perfume of elderflower blossoms.
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Irish Cream
Based on Irish whiskey and cream infused with notes of coffee, chocolate, vanilla and almond, this liqueur is often served after dinner to accompany coffee.
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Limoncello
This bright yellow liqueur, made with the zest of fresh lemons, has been produced in Southern Italy for more than a century.
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Maraschino
This complex spirit is distilled from the small, slightly sour and extremely flavorful Marasca cherry that grows along the Dalmatian coast.
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Orange Liqueur
Orange liqueurs are highly aromatic sweet spirits infused with the peels of sweet and bitter oranges.
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Parfait Amour
Often used in cocktails primarily for its purple color, this is generally created from a Curaçao base flavored with rose petals, vanilla and almonds or lemon, coriander and violets.
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Pimm's
First produced in 1823, this line of British “fruit cups” combines different spirit bases flavored with a secret mixture of herbs and liqueurs.
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Raspberry Liqueur
Made with red or black raspberries, both versions capture the taste of ripe fruit.
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Rose Liqueur
This subtly floral and lightly sweet liqueur is created with an infusion of fresh rose petals or with an attar of rose, made by steam-distilling thousands of petals.