Vanilla liqueur

Vanilla comes from Vanilla planifolia, a climbing plant from the orchid family. According to Kew, the botanical garden in London, the plant grows naturally in the tropical forests of Mexico, Central America and the north of South America. The Aztecs in Mexico were already using vanilla to flavour cocoa.

Outside that natural area, every flower has to be pollinated by hand. That is precision work: the flowers are only open for eight hours. Kew writes that the technique was perfected in 1841 by a twelve-year-old boy. The aroma only develops once the pod is dried and cured by steaming and fermenting. Vanillin is the most important flavor molecule in this.

That statement means the aroma comes for at least 95 percent by weight from vanilla itself. This is governed by the European flavouring regulation, Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 of 16 December 2008, which has applied since 20 January 2011. The word 'natural' may only be used for a flavouring that consists exclusively of flavouring preparations and natural flavouring substances.

According to that regulation, a natural flavouring substance must be obtained by physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes from material of vegetable, animal or microbiological origin. If the flavouring comes only partly from vanilla, the label may say 'natural vanilla flavouring with other natural flavourings', provided vanilla remains clearly recognisable. If it says only 'flavouring', the label says nothing about the origin.

In the EU, a liqueur is a category of spirit drink in its own right with a minimum sugar content. This is laid down in Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of 17 April 2019, the European rules for spirit drinks. That is why, under that regulation, the word 'dry' on a liqueur does not mean that the drink is unsweetened.

For spirit drinks a minimum of 15 percent alcohol generally applies, with one exception for another category. Flavourings are permitted in liqueurs. The regulation also lets producers use a compound name containing the word ‘liqueur’, as long as the end product meets the requirements of the liqueur category.

By steeping vanilla pods in alcohol for a long time. Zuidam Distillers in Baarle-Nassau, a family business, describes it like this: the pods of Bourbon quality come from Madagascar, are hand-harvested and fermented there and selected in the Netherlands. They then steep in alcohol for at least six months. The Zuidam vanilla liqueur has 24 percent alcohol and, according to the maker, no added aromas, colourings or flavourings.

Zuidam also uses the same vanilla from Madagascar in its 20 percent butterscotch liqueur, together with handmade butterscotch. The maker recommends pouring that liqueur into coffee, drinking it neat or with an ice cube.

Neat, with ice, in coffee or in cocktails and desserts; which way suits depends on the bottle. Zuidam mentions coffee, neat and with an ice cube for its butterscotch liqueur. Bandoeng 22 from Schiedam is a liqueur made from pandan, a leaf from Southeast Asia, with Indonesian spices. The maker mentions cocktails, highballs, hot drinks and desserts as uses.

A liqueur is sweetened, so a small splash is enough in a cocktail or over a dessert. For the alcohol percentage and the recommended way to serve, always check the label on the bottle itself; these differ per producer.

The shop currently has 5 bottles that we classify as vanilla liqueur: the liqueurs in which vanilla, or a flavour along those lines, plays the leading role. Four come from the Netherlands. You will find the Kalkwijck Vanille Likeur, the Zuidam butterscotch, the Bandoeng 22 and the Battumse Likeur 7437, plus the Licor Amor.

Want to know what a label says, or looking for a bottle for your coffee or to go with dessert? Feel free to call or drop by ’t Bockje at Brink 2 in Bathmen.

The shop is at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Open Tuesday to Friday from 09.00 to 18.00 and Saturday from 09.00 to 17.00. For advice, call 0570 541 278 or email info@bockje.nl.