creme de. . . duh?

[ned]

Like many of my friends, I don't keep creme de mezcal in my liquor cabinet. However yesterday I was asked to mix a drink that calls for it. In the course of thinking about what to substitute, I realized that I don't have a clue what the creme is in creme de: mezcal, menthe, cacao and not in name but still there in Bailey's and Malibu.

Is it just cream? I know alcohol is a powerful preservative but could a spirit with a milk product in it sit on the shelf unrefridgerated for five or more years like my bottle of Bailey's has? If it's not cream then what is it? And has anybody ever heard of creme de mezcal?

[beans]

I've never heard of creme de mezcal, but that certainly doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

Anything that is creme de ____________ is a generally a liqueur with a minimum of 250 grams of sugar per litre. Liqueurs (ones that are not creme de _________) contain a minimum of 100 grams of sugar per litre.

Now the liqueurs that contain cream or eggs are best used within 90 days (in fact it is actually printed on the bottle of Ke-Ke key lime cream liqueur), however they can kept longer.

I hope some of this helps.

Edited May 26, 2004 by beans (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Now the liqueurs that contain cream or eggs are best used within 90 days (in fact it is actually printed on the bottle of Ke-Ke key lime cream liqueur), however they can kept longer.

Refrigerated?

[andiesenji]

Perhaps you might find this interesting:

http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_01.14.9...rink/dr0114.htm

Which reminds me of a friend who can't afford to keep numerous liquers on hand and makes her own when needed.

Her secret? Flavored ice creams, French vanilla, coffee or espresso, butter pecan, caramel vanilla, peaches 'n cream, mint chocolate chip, etc.

It is allowed to soften, then mixed in a blender with brandy, rum, vodka, Irish, bourbon or rye, she can approximate many commercial liquers and has even invented a few of her own.

Brandy with butter pecan is one that people just love.

I don't recall she made any mezcal creme liquer but I do know that she loves one particular tequila, Lago Azul which she describes as a "sippin tequila" because it is very sweet and smooth.

[andiesenji]

and here is a site with recipes for various liquers.

http://cocktails.about.com/library/recipes/blirishcream.htm

[beans]

Just for the sake of clarity, creme de ____________ is a liqueur that doesn't contain any dairy product.

Now about those liqueurs that do contain dairy.

I refrigerate my Baileys because that is my preference, however not wholly necessary. I also noticed that the labels are now dated with a "Best taste before" date. My current bottle is dated for August, 2005.

This from their website FAQs (a long list!):

Q.  What is the shelflife of Baileys Original Irish Cream?

A.  Baileys is the only cream liqueur that guarantees a totally natural product which delivers that unique, smooth Baileys taste for 24 months from the day it was made.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Baileys should be stored away from direct sunlight at temperature range of 5-35 degrees centigrade. You don't have to refrigerate your bottle, but we would recommend it - and it tastes even better when chilled! Fluctuating its temperature too much will cause it to go lumpy - so try and always keep it roughly at the same temperature. The storage conditions are the same for sealed or unopened bottles. If you are concerned about a bottle of Baileys - all bottles now carry a best before date - have you checked the best consumed before date on the bottle? If so, have you exceeded the date? If you cannot find a date on the bottle, have you had the bottle for longer than 24 months? You don't have to worry if you have - it is still fine to drink - it just won't taste as good as usual. We wouldn't recommend drinking it if it has gone lumpy or the mixture has separated though.

Baileys contains no preservatives or additives and so should be consumed within 6 months of opening the bottle.

http://www.baileys.com

Cheers!

[ned]

Went to the source. Here's some creme de mezcal, actually they call it crema de mezcal:

http://www.mezcal.com/crema.html

Also, incidentally, here's the recipe for the drink that inspired this search. Regular tequila won't do. Sorry this is kind of rough:

puree of cilantro, lime zest and lime juice

simple syrup

small amount crema de mezcal (or else maybe just a dab of heavy cream?)

mezcal

about equal parts simple syrup, cilantro puree and mezcal.

[beans]

small amount crema de mezcal (or else maybe just a dab of heavy cream?)

ned,

Please see my posts above.

Anything creme de _______________ is a liqueur with a higher sugar content. It does not contain dairy cream or milk so the substitution of adding a dab of heavy cream is far from what is called for in this drink.

That url you provided (thank you ) explains how crema de mezcal is made with the following ingredients:

Crema de Mezcal, is a combination of Miel de Maguey (unfermented syrup of the roast agave) and Mezcal San Luis del Rio - double distilled from 100% mature agave Espadin, produced the original, natural 400-year-old, hand-crafted way.

I imagine the roasted agave syrup is quite smokey and sweet, hence the following with the format of "creme de".

Click on the label and you'll see what the bottle of the stuff looks like, despite the blurry photography. It is clear and not a cloudy mix such as Tequila Rose, Baileys, Ke-Ke or any of those newish Just Desserts low proof cream liqueurs.

[ned]

Woops. Bad reading comprehension. Maybe blurred because before the original posting I ended up subbing, and it worked even though you'd think it wouldn't, Bailey's. Just a couple of drops.

[beans]

Careful with adding Baileys to anything containing citrus. It curdles to an unsightly mess.

[beans]

Something seemed familiar. (Why does Cinco de Mayo seem so long ago? )

Here is a quote from this Detroit Free Press article from this eG post.

Crema de Mezcal, Del Maguey, Oaxaca, Mexico, about $40

Unfermented juice of ripe cooked agave is blended with the distilled version to produce a sweet and lightly spicy sip with a nice roasted agave smokiness that carries through to the finish. There's lots of tropical fruit, honey, and toasty citrus appearing in the flavor, with an appealing nutty middle palate. True mezcal connoisseurs will argue that this isn't the genuine stuff because of the added juice, but it's a delicious and easy-to-appreciate introduction to the exotic world of mezcals.

[ned]

Careful with adding Baileys to anything containing citrus.  It curdles to an unsightly mess.

That happened. Lucky for me my guests were pie-eyed and couldn't hardly see what they were drinking.

Next time, crema de mezcal.

Edited May 27, 2004 by ned (log)

[ljr]

The French (and they invented the term) define a creme (according to Larousse Gastronomique) as a "sweet liqueur with a syrupy consistency... obtained by soaking various substances in Brandy or spirit containing sugar syrup" Confusingly of course "creme" is also applied to creamy soups and the like.

I notice no mention of the more usual cremes as in creme de cassis, de framboise, de mur, de fraises etc. Everyone should have at least Cassis and hopefully one or two others in the house as they are essential for cooking with summer fruits plus cocktail cabinets. Creme de cassis is surely easily available (it is in Ireland) but the others are worth picking up if you see them for kir and kir royale. Mur (blackberries), Fraise (strawberries) and Framboise (raspberries) all make v. interesting alternatives. Similarly I use them when making ice cream and sorbets from these fruits. Grand Marnier or its Armagnac equivalent Pousse Rapier also make a lovely drink mixed with sparkling wine and make wonderful ice cream... maybe you all knew this already... (not on the board long). Intrigued by creme de mezcal and will watch out for it when next in the US. I buy my cremes in France and they are usually 16 per cent alcohol so they keep for a good length of time - the sirops do not keep and are a waste of money in my view.

[Blondie]

Welcome to eGullet, ljr!

Edit to add: Are you based in Ireland? What's the deal with Guinness and black currant? I never bothered to ask when I lived there, but it is a black currant liquer or a slug of Ribena that people defile their Guinness with?

Edited May 27, 2004 by Blondie (log)

[ljr]

thank you blondie (I too am blond btw!). site is huge - afraid to look up too much or I will never get any work done!

Sad to tell you that it is indeed a slug of ribena (or more usually a cheaper brand such as MiWadi or Quosh). If you ask for a vodka and orange you might also get a vodka with a slug of dilutable orange such as MiWadi in it - but this is more likely to occur in an old fashioned pub in the middle of nowhere. I haven't heard anyone ordering a guinness and blackcurrant in a long time but by coincidence I heard it mentioned on the radio this morning (see below) - in the negative of course. In my experience it is usually orered by young women who find Guinness a bit too bitter. Black Velvet (Guinness and Champagne) is more respectable and is quite nice - best with the bottled fermented guinness in pint bottles rather than the draught version...

Guinness drinkers are long suffering here and are not treated well by the company (as you may have gathered). They have been gradually cooling the pint over the years to try to recruit new young drinkers. They even introduced an "extra-cold Guinness" which seemed to emphasise all the bitter notes and tasted revolting. They have tried to introduce new taps that allow a pint to be poured in 25 seconds rather than the usual 2 minutes and other things - all these ideas ultimately fail but they keep persisting. More sad news is that Diageo (who now own Guinness) announced yesterday that they have decided to put up the price of a pint by 6c. which will translate to 15c when you add tax and pub mark-up etc. - in some (trendy) pubs this will push the price dangerously close to or over 5 Euro a pint - another reason to stick to the traditional pubs where prices are more consistent.

BTW did you try Beamish and Murphys? Murphys is a bit too sweet for many people but a pint of Beamish from a pub with a good flow (lots of people ordering it), for example in Cork, beats Guinness any day imho. In blind taste tests Beamish usually comes out top followed by Guinness and then Murphys.

If you are curious about the mention on the radio this morning it was an interview with Mark Griffiths who has written a book called "Guinness is Guinness" - a history/celebration of Guinness. This was on the

Gerry Ryan Show on 2fm - I only heard a tiny bit but it should be possible to hear the whole show, if not now then later today, as they update the site fairly regularly - the interview occurred around 10.45am and the show runs from 9am-12noon so you would need to go about half way into the download. Ryan is a good broadcaster but he can really get on one's nerves with his smugness so be warned...

[Dan Ryan]

Creme in this sense means "essence", so essence of blackcurrant, essence of chocolate, etc.

[ljr]

This is a better link if you want to hear the radio interview... if you are trying this today (Thursday 27th) click on the link that says "Click here to listen to the latest Gerry Ryan Show" click here... move the arrow forward to about 1:40 minutes...

l.

Edited May 27, 2004 by ljr (log)

[beans]

I didn't mention all of those other creme de's as I figured this was primarily focused around crema de mezcal, but while we're at it, I suppose I'll pass this along....

Interesting EU Regulation Definitions regarding this may be helpful within this thread. (A most helpful link that one regular forum contributor, apetail, of the Webtender forums graciously provided not very long ago. )

R.  Liqueurs

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

(2) The name 'crème de' followed by the name of a fruit or the raw material used, excluding milk products, shall be reserved for liqueurs with a minimum sugar content of 250 grams per litre expressed as invert sugar.

European Union, Definitions of Categories of Alcoholic Beverages, (As presented in Article1, Section 4 of the Council Regulation No. 1576/89 of 29th May 1989)

[emphasis mine]

But the following is a bit of a trivia question lover's tidbit. The regulation further states:

R.  Liqueurs

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

(2) ... The name 'crème de cassis' shall, however, be reserved for blackcurrant liqueurs containing at least 400 grams of sugar, expressed as invert sugar, per litre.

Id.

http://www.distill.com/specs/EU3.html

Cheers! And yes! Welcome ljr.

p.s. sliding a wee OT, I just saw news reports this afternoon that the price of a pint of Guinness in the pubs is skyrocketing outrageously. I think they quoted approximately equal to US $6.00. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

edit: clarity

Edited May 27, 2004 by beans (log)