Saccharine safari: Sweetening cocktails with cordials

Mixing a balanced cocktail is no easy task, especially when it comes to adding sweeteners. An overly sweet cocktail will deaden your appetite, while a too tart drink will not only shock your taste buds but your stomach as well.

Of course, creating the ideally balanced cocktail has as much to do with its ingredients as with the desires of your guests. But, as Joseph Lanza points out in his book The Cocktail, even a connoisseur of the driest Martini will welcome the occasional saccharine safari into gum sugar, molasses, maraschino cherries, grenadine, orgeat syrup, fruit juice, heavy cream, and various other confections.

When it comes to sweetening cocktails, novice mixers usually reach for naturally sweet fruit juices or sugar. Although these technically work, there are more sophisticated solutions. Natural fruit juices usually dilute the beverage so much that it's no longer a simple syrup might cut the tartness of a drink, it adds nothing more to the flavor.

The most effective way to sweeten cocktails is to use high-quality spirits flavored with the essence of fruits and sweetened with sugar. These liqueurs, known as cordials in the United States, originated centuries ago as medicinal treatments to stimulate the heart. Most were created by apothecaries and flavored with spices and such exotic ingredients as brain and horse dung.

Liqueurs get their pungent flavors from two different processes: maceration and distillation. Quality liqueur producers use both of these methods in conjunction. Regardless of the process, the base ingredient is high-proof eau de vie or neutral grain spirits.

Maceration involves the soaking and steeping of fruits such as raspberries, citrus peels, fruit pits (of cherries or apricots), and other flavorings such as coffee beans, vanilla pods, and cocao. The maceration time will vary, depending on the desired flavor. Although each liqueur has a distinctive flavor (such as orange in triple sec), many agents are used in the production. Once maceration is complete, the infused spirits are redistilled to further purify them before blending and bottling.

As in the production of gin, liqueurs can also be distilled with flavoring agents. Essential oils from these ingredients are released during distillation, and give each cordial a unique characteristic. The blend is then distilled to the desired proof and sweetened with simple syrup or honey. In the case of a liqueur like Grand Marnier or Drambuie, aged brandy or scotch is blended into the liqueur for added complexity and taste. Because of the distillation process, most liqueurs are colorless. Liqueur producers often add colorings, usually derived from organic matter such as saffron.

If you have ever put ice in Cointreau, Pernod, or ouzo, you know that clear spirits turn cloudy when chilled. This happens because of leftover essential oils from the final blending.

Cordial to the king

Flavored spirits didn't become fashionable until King Louis XIV of France developed a liking for them. Soon after, France became the forerunner in the production of these liqueurs. Now, of course, cordials are produced all over the world. In fact, there are now so many available, that the creative bartender would never have to mix the same drink twice.

Finding a bartender well-versed in liqueurs is better than dreaming of meeting a real-life Willy Wonka. Chocolate rivers and bubble gum that resembles a four-course meal are nothing compared to framboise.

Because really skilled bartenders are uncommon, you'll want to learn how to mix cocktails with cordials. First familiarize yourself with how sweet these liqueurs really are. Cordials made in France must legally have the sweetness stated on the label. Most other liqueur producers follow this de facto standard. To be classified as a liqueur, the minimum proof is 30, with a minimum sugar content of 200 grams per liter, or 20 percent. If a liqueur is designated a crème, it is twice as sweet, with a sugar content of 40 percent.

If you are preparing an aperitif cocktail, the amount of liqueur used should not exceed one-fourth of the total ingredient volume. For crèmes, this ratio should be closer to one-eighth, though you may mix according to your (or your guest's) particular taste.

Coffee, mint, and cacao liqueurs should be used in very small quantities because of their dominating flavors. Just a drop of these heavy cordials in the right cocktail will add depth to the drink's finish, as in the case of the La Floridita cocktail. Berry cordials, which are often like syrup, are much sweeter than such citrus liqueurs as Cointreau or curaçao.

Beware of cordials with the word "artificial" (or in France, "fantaisie") on their labels. These liqueurs contain flavoring agents that are not infused through maceration or distillation. Instead, the bottler purchases essences and oils from the same people supplying the perfume industry. These bottlers simply add a few drops into the batch for a cheap imitation. If you can afford the extra US$5 to $10 a bottle, always buy French liqueurs. That nation has a rich history of creating sweet spirits with a dry finish perfect for any aperitif cocktail.