Dr. McGillicuddy's is a line of
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 ...
s produced in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
by the
Sazerac Company
Sazerac Company, Inc. is a privately held American alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Metairie in the metropolitan area of New Orleans, Louisiana, but with its principal office in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is owned by William ...
(acquired from
Seagram
The Seagram Company Ltd. (which trade name, traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ...
in 1989).
It comes in various flavors including
Apple Pie
An apple pie is a pie in which the principal filling is apples. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), custard or cheddar cheese. It is generally double-crusted, with pastry both above and below the ...
,
Butterscotch
Butterscotch is a type of confection whose primary ingredients are brown sugar and butter. Some recipes include corn syrup, cream, vanilla, and salt. The earliest known recipes, in mid-19th century Yorkshire, used treacle (molasses) in plac ...
,
Cherry
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...
,
Coffee
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
,
Lemon
The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...
,
Mentholmint,
Peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...
,
Peppermint
Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a Hybrid (biology), hybrid species of Mentha, mint, a cross between Mentha aquatica, watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in m ...
, Raw
Vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...
,
Root Beer
Root beer is a North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree '' Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of '' Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla; also used to make a soft drink called sarsaparilla) as the ...
, and Wild
Grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...
.
Dr. McGillicuddy's liqueurs are between 30 and 60
U.S. proof (15–30%
alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...
), depending on the flavor. The liqueurs are available in a range of bottle sizes 50 mL, 100 mL, 200 mL, 375 mL, 750 mL, 1 L and 1.75 L.
History
According to the brand website, a character named Dr. Aloysius Percival McGillicuddy created the liqueur. He lived in the late 19th century as a bartender in an old western town.
In 2016, Sazerac launched several Dr. McGillicuddy branded flavored whiskeys; Apple, Peach, Honey and Blackberry. They are all 60 proof. The flavored whiskey are available in bottle sizes 50 mL, 750 mL and 1 L.
In 2012, the brand was among the 100 largest selling brands by revenue among brands analyzed by
SymphonyIRI, and had a market growth rate exceeding 100%.
The brand name has also been used by Sazerac for a
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
–based non-alcoholic root beer.
Discontinued flavors and the rebranding of Fireball
Originally,
Fireball Cinnamon Whisky
Fireball Cinnamon Whisky is a liqueur produced by the Sazerac Company. It is a mixture of a Canadian whisky base with cinnamon flavoring and sweeteners, and is bottled at 33% alcohol by volume (66 proof (alcohol), U.S. proof).
The product was de ...
was labelled as "Dr. McGillicuddy's Fireball Whisky" when it was introduced by Seagram in the mid-1980s.
The "Dr. McGillicuddy's" was dropped from the label in 2007, to differentiate it from the rest of the "Dr. McGillicuddy's" line.
Previously, the lineup included a
Black Licorice, Black Pepper, Raspberry, and Lemon Drop liqueurs but the company web site does not currently list it as being available.
References
Liqueurs
1865 introductions
Sazerac Company brands
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