Home / October

A little reason to celebrate

National Liqueur Day

Drink · October 16

A look at liqueurs, the sweetened, flavored spirits made with herbs, fruit, nuts or cream, and the easy ways people sip and mix them.

National Liqueur Day falls on Saturday, October 16, 2027. That is 354 days away.

A liqueur is a distilled spirit that has been sweetened and flavored. The flavor can come from fruit, herbs, spices, nuts, coffee, flowers or cream, and the sugar is what sets a liqueur apart from a plain spirit like vodka or gin.

The range is wide. Some liqueurs taste of a single thing, such as orange peel or almonds. Others are built from long lists of herbs and roots and taste more like a garden than a fruit bowl. Cream liqueurs are thick and soft. Fruit liqueurs can be bright enough to color a glass.

Many are made by steeping flavorings in alcohol and then adding sweetener, while others are distilled with their botanicals. Most are lower in alcohol than the spirit they started from, though not all, and the label tells you which kind you have.

People often drink a small pour after dinner, neat or over ice. Liqueurs also do quiet work in cocktails, where a splash of orange or coffee liqueur can round out a drink. In the kitchen they show up in desserts, drizzled over ice cream or soaked into cake.

Because they are sweet and concentrated, a little goes a long way. A small glass is the traditional serving, and an opened bottle of a non-cream liqueur keeps for a long time in a cool cupboard. Cream liqueurs are the exception and are best kept cold once opened.

Ways to celebrate

• Try a small pour of a liqueur you have never tasted.
• Drizzle a coffee or nut liqueur over vanilla ice cream.
• Mix a simple cocktail using a splash of orange liqueur.
• Share a tasting of a few bottles with friends, in small glasses.
• Look for a liqueur from a local distillery.

Dates

All national days on October 16

Also on October 16

• National Boss's Day
• Sweetest Day
• Dictionary Day

Categories: Drink days