Chocolate liqueur is a

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

-flavored

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

made from a base liquor of

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

. Unlike

chocolate liquor Chocolate liquor, also called cocoa liquor, paste or mass, is pure cocoa in liquid or semi-solid form. It is produced from cocoa bean nibs that have been fermented, dried, roasted, and separated from their skins. The nibs are ground to the point ...

, chocolate liqueur contains alcohol. Chocolate liqueur is often used as an ingredient in

mixology ''Mixology'' is an American sitcom that aired during the 2013–14 television season on ABC. The series was co-created by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who also serve as co-executive producers with Ryan Seacrest and Nina Wass for Ryan Seacres ...

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but it can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot Baking stone, stones. Bread is the most commonly baked item, but many other types of food can also be baked. Heat is ...

, and

cooking Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or Food safety, safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from ...

History

There is mention in contemporary sources of chocolate ''en liqueur'' being produced as early as 1666. Context suggests this is a chocolate liqueur, not a

or cocoa bean extract nor any other chocolate flavored beverage. In

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

prior to the 18th century

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, a "chocolate wine" was popular. Its ingredients included

sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

, chocolate, and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

. A French manual published in 1780 also describes chocolate liqueur. An 1803 French

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

manual includes a recipe for a chocolate liqueur ('' ratafia de chocolat'', also ''ratafia de cacao''). An early 19th-century American cookbook, published in 1825 and preserved in an historical archive in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, includes a similar recipe. Throughout the 19th century and into the early 20th century, manuals and encyclopedias in French, English, and Spanish give similar recipes. A late 19th century

food science Food science (or bromatology) is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing ...

manual gives a recipe that includes techniques for clarifying and coloring the liqueur. A similar early 20th century manual gives four recipes.

Recipes

Early 19th century recipes for chocolate liqueur featured whole

cocoa bean The cocoa bean, also known as cocoa () or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances) and cocoa butter (the fat) can be extracted. Cacao tree ...

s. A basic modern recipe for making chocolate liqueur at home lists the ingredients chocolate extract,

vanilla extract Vanilla extract is a Solution (chemistry), solution made by maceration (food), macerating and percolation, percolating vanilla, vanilla pods in a solution of ethanol and water. It is considered an essential ingredient in many Western desserts, es ...

, and

simple syrup In cooking, syrup (less commonly sirup; from ; , beverage, wine and ) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a Solution (chemistry), solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but ...

. To keep the chocolate extract in suspension and make the liqueur thicker,

glycerine Glycerol () is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, viscous liquid. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known as glycerides. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant in ...

may be added. In its purest form, chocolate liqueur is clear; coloring may be added. Recipes for home-made chocolate liqueurs may also include raw eggs as an ingredient, presenting a risk of

salmonellosis Salmonellosis is a symptomatic infection caused by bacteria of the ''Salmonella'' type. It is the most common disease to be known as food poisoning (though the name refers to food-borne illness in general). These are defined as diseases, usuall ...

. Reasonable safety may be achieved by combining the eggs with the alcohol before other ingredients. Earlier, liquor was made by adding the cocoa beans to classic liqueur. Modern chocolate wine can be considered as a subspecies of chocolate liqueur.

Uses

Chocolate liqueur can be consumed straight, as an after dinner drink rather than as aperitif. It is used in mixed drinks and in

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

s, especially in dessert sauces, cakes, and truffles. Food writer Shirley Corriher notes that many recipes for

chocolate truffle A chocolate truffle is a French chocolate confectionery traditionally made with a chocolate ganache center and coated in cocoa powder, coconut, or chopped nuts. A chocolate truffle is handrolled into a spherical or ball shape. The name der ...

add a small amount of chocolate liqueur to melted chocolate, and warns that adding the liqueur often causes the chocolate to seize. One of the more unusual uses is in chocolate rolled fondant. Arguably the most controversial use may be in connection with a scandal concerning the provenance of certain 17th century bottles of wines said to have belonged to

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, and traded by Hardy Rodenstock. Benjamin Wallace writes in his book ''The Billionaire's Vinegar'' that at a

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

of 19th century wines from Château Latour, provided by Rodenstock, several people noted the wines had a flavor of chocolate liqueur and were fakes. Wine and chocolate are a classic flavor pairing, and this is reflected in some

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

s that combine a strong red wine with a dash of chocolate liqueur.

Varieties

There are three types of chocolate liqueur:

, cream liqueur, and crème de cacao.

Chocolate liqueur

* Afrikoko (coconut and chocolate) * Ashanti Gold * Bicerin Di Giandujotto (chocolate and hazelnut) *

Godiva Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...

Dark Chocolate * Intramuros Liqueur de Cacao * Liqueur Fogg * Mozart Black (dark chocolate) * OM Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Liqueur * Royal Mint-Chocolate Liqueur (French) * Sabra liqueur (dark chocolate and Jaffa oranges) * Thornton's Chocolate Liqueur *

Mon Chéri is an internationally known brand name for a chocolate praline produced by the Italian Ferrero company. The ''Mon Chéri'' is a single-wrapped combination consisting of a "heart" of cherry (18%) floating in a liqueur (13%) and contained in a ...

Chocolate cream liqueur

* Cadbury Cream Liqueur * Dooley's White Chocolate Cream Liqueur * Dorda Double Chocolate Liqueur * Dwersteg's Organic Chocolate Cream Liqueur * Godiva White Chocolate * Hotel Chocolat Velvetised Chocolate Cream * Florcello Chocolate Orange Cream Liqueur * Mozart Gold Chocolate Cream Liqueur * Mozart White Chocolate Cream Liqueur * Vana Tallinn Chocolate Cream * Vermeer Dutch Chocolate Cream Liqueur

Crème de cacao

Crème de cacao may be either clear or a dark

caramel color Caramel color or caramel coloring is a water-soluble food coloring. It is made by heat treatment of carbohydrates (sugars), in general in the presence of acids, alkalis, or salts, in a process called caramelization. It is more fully oxidized ...

, which is often labeled ''dark crème de cacao''. The French word identifies it as a crème liqueur, a liqueur with a high sugar content as stipulated by various regulations (for example, European law requires a sugar content of 250 g/L). There is no dairy cream in it. The alcohol content of crème de cacao varies, but 20–25% ABV (40–50 proof (U.S.)) is common.

References

External links

* {{Chocolate Chocolate liqueurs Chocolate drinks French liqueurs