Tag Archives: Elixir Tasting

Cacao Fruit Elixir For Sale!

We are pleased to inform you that we have Cacao Elixir 8oz bottles for sale in The Apothecary.  Usually they are snapped up by chocolate connoisseurs at Elixir Tastings before they even get into the on-line shop.

Cacao Fruit Elixir 8oz.
Cacao Fruit Elixir 8oz.

The Cacao Fruit was gathered in May of Last year; the pods were cracked open and the Elixir has  been through a lengthy process of infusion and regular siphoning since then.

It started with the Cacao pods:

Cacao Pods.
Cacao Pods.
Cacao Fruit Elixir.
Cacao Fruit Elixir.

The Final Product:

Cacao Fruit Elixir.
Cacao Fruit Elixir.

This is our Profile for the Cacao Fruit Elixir:

Colour: Amber brown with hints of burgandy.

Clarity: Very slightly translucent.

Nose: Musky, earthy and reminiscent of freshly cut hay.

Taste: Sweet and coats tongue with an unctuous velvety layer.  Complex taste with chocolate tones.

Medicinal Indications.

Digestive Stimulant.  Mood-lifting properties.

Serving Suggestions.

  • Store in the freezer for a cool, sipping liqueur.  Pour into a liqueur glass or shot glass and enjoy.  Excellent after-dinner digestif especially after a heavy meal.
  • Serve in a highball glass over ice and top up with soda.  Add an orange twist to complement the chocolate taste and aroma.
  • Can be used to replace brandy in cocktails.

Cacao Fruit Elixir Alcohol Content: 33% w/v.

More Elixir Tastings…

Liqueur.Tasting.Together

We have been busy little bees frequenting Cotton Tree Lodge with our Elixir offerings.  As usual, the crowd starts off meek and quiet and as we proceed, they start getting rowdier.  Here is a picture from last week…there is a leg up in the air…I took it as a good sign!

A Jolly Knees Up.
A Jolly Knees Up.

Last night we had the pleasure of hosting the Taza Chocolate based in MA, USA.  They were a very interested and inspired group; this lot took the tasting very seriously and even used napkins to help determine the colour and clarity of the liqueurs.

Elixir Tasting.
Elixir Tasting.
Taza Chocolate.
Taza Chocolate.

Even the big bossie Chris Crowell joined us last night:

Christopher Crowell.
Christopher Crowell.

The favourites always vary from group to group.  This time, the Balam Spirit was much appreciated for its unique nutty and spicy aroma.

Balam Fruit.
Balam Fruit.

Another clear favourite was the Passionfruit Elixir noted for its subtle floral and fruity components.  A few of the group members were intrigued by its apparent aphrodisiac properties…

Passionfruit Elixir.
Passionfruit Elixir.

Elixir Tasting With Dandelion Chocolate.

Liqueur.Tasting.TogetherOn Monday evening we had an Elixir Tasting with Dandelion Chocolate, a company from California.  Greg D’Alesandre heads the group every year at Cotton Tree Lodge.  This year’s tasting was much the same with general fun, laughs and disruption (of course!) from Greg.  We attempted a “controlled brawl” under medical supervision (Ha-Ha!).  😉

Here are some pictures (sorry the “flash” on my phone is quite non-existent).

Elixir Tasting With Dandelion Group.
Elixir Tasting With Dandelion Group.

This is Greg intensely scrutinising an Elixir:

Greg From Dandelion.
Greg From Dandelion.

The Elixir Tasting was a success.  Our gauge was the general noise level and Drunken “I Love You, Guys!!”

The Cacao Fruit Elixir was of great interest to everyone since the group are here specifically on a chocolate tour.  Greg kept on murmuring  about a Fireball Whisky and Ginger Ale all through the tasting.  Apparently he thinks that the Lemongrass Elixir goes very well with ginger ale.  And the Fireball…hmmm…not sure if that was just an obscure comment about the cacao liqueur?!

Cacao Fruit Elixir.
Cacao Fruit Elixir.

Elixirs at Cotton Tree Lodge.

Elixirs.Passion.Cacao.Roselle

We had an Elixir Tasting last night at Cotton Tree Lodge with a small group of six.  The lodge is having a Chocolate group at the moment so we set the mood for the night by starting with Cacao Fruit as the first tasting.  This was interesting because it was a new batch and we were curious as to the response from the group.

Cacao Fruit Elixir.
Cacao Fruit Elixir.

In this batch, we actually increased the sugar content in order to balance the astringent qualities of the cacao bean.  The result was a mellow, well-rounded flavour with a definite rich chocolate taste.  Overall, the group found this elixir complex, interesting and unique.

This time, we talked more about the medicinal properties of the Elixirs.  It was very clear that the Cacao Fruit had mood-lifting and stimulating qualities as the night proceeded!  This one got every-one into a talkative and lively mood.

By the end of the tasting, it seemed that the clear favourite was the Grapefruit Elixir.  This one is actually three years old and the maturation process brought out such interesting flavours!  It was a complex combination of pears, apples and honey.  Very silky smooth and unctuous and it had a lovely clear golden colour.

Grapefruit Elixir.
Grapefruit Elixir.

It just goes to show that aging a liqueur makes all the difference.  Most of the Elixirs that we have available are about 2 years old now and getting better.

Again, it was amusing to see the response towards the Culantro Elixir…you either love it or you hate it!!

Fresh Culantro.
Fresh Culantro.

Culantro is used interchangeably with cilantro in this country in cooking.  This herb lends a herbaceous refeshing taste to our Elixir.  Some people absolutely love it because they like everything with the taste of cilantro (culantro).  Others wrinkle up their nose in dismay and describe it as being “too soapy” or “too medicinal.”  The feedback is always very helpful!

Liqueur.Tasting.Together

For more information on our Elixirs, including taste profiles and medicinal properties, check out our link.  For our full list of Elixirs please check out The Apothecary.

Elixirs Page Is Up!

Liqueur.TastingHello Everyone!!  The Elixirs Page is up and ready for you to read.  There is an introduction to our Elixirs giving general information and there are also detailed profiles on five of our liqueurs.  The Ginger Elixir is a brand new one for the season.

Check out the New Pages:

About Our Elixirs.

Elixir Profiles.

Just.A.Smidgen.Elixir.Row

Metaphorically speaking, the Elixirs are the bottled essence of our Joie De Vivre!

Liqueur.Tasting.Back.View

Elixir Time Again!

Liqueur.Tasting.Together We had another Elixir Tasting at Cotton Tree Lodge last night.  This time round, it was concentrated around individual flavours of Elixirs.

We started off with a Limecello…an elixir made from lime zest.  This is a very interesting one to point out because I have noticed that in the last three tastings, somebody has consistently noted on its anise-like flavour.  This is an amazing example of how a liqueur can capture and encapsulate such fine layers of taste and with time, the expressions of particular flavours become more accentuated to give such unpredictable and complex tastes so that the final result isn’t just one flavour.  Wonderful!

And somebody always, in jest, compares the Lemongrass Elixir to a type of house-hold cleaner or “Pledge”.  This time, Gnome shouted it out first so that no-one could get the chance!

Lemongrass Elixir.
Lemongrass Elixir.

The Lemongrass Elixir is always a winner with its unique spicy and citrus notes.  If you are a beer drinker, one shot of this in beer gives it an extra twist…similar to a Shandy which is beer and lemonade.  We like to call this concoction Atomic Shandy!

I brought out the sapodilla liqueur since this is the season for this fruit (you must realise that by now because I have taking about it for weeks) and passed pieces of the dry fruit around so that people could compare tastes.  Everyone found the sapodilla liqueur warming with tastes of caramel and cinnamon…definitely a unique experience!

Dried Sapodiila Fruit.
Dried Sapodiila Fruit.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable tasting with this group of ten.  Two of the group were repeat attendees from two years ago and so it was a pleasure to have their company again.  Everyone was very lively and engaging and we found the enthusiasm very inspiring.  Thanks to all who participated!!

Post Elixir Tasting.

Liqueur.Tasting.Back.ViewIt takes about two whole days to recover from an Elixir Tasting night hence the reason why you have not heard from us for a while.  Entertaining people is energy intensive…

The Elixir Tasting was a success and we had the pleasure of the company of Dandelion Chocolate from San Francisco.  As I had mentioned before, we changed some things around.  Gnome added a bit about the various stages of the aging process of wine and passed exhibits around.  We also let everyone taste a Gnome’s New Year’s Eve Maize Beer; for all intents and purposes, it was perfect with clarity, colour, one inch head with good head retention.  The only problem was that corn beer actually tasted revolting!  No wonder nobody makes maize beer!  It has a distinctive sour and “vomity” smell which puts you off before it even touches your lips!  Everyone had a good laugh about it.

In previous Elixir Tastings, a lot of the time was spent waiting for glasses to be cleaned and bussed back after each tasting.  This time we put bowls on the tables with jugs of water so that people could rinse out their glasses.  Gnome’s mother had mentioned to us that traditionally, Italians do not like to waste a drop of alcohol, so the taster is suppose to rinse their glass and swig down the rest of the diluted alcohol.  Everyone involved was quite happy to comply with the new rule.

Everyone loved the Lemongrass Elixir as per usual.  And, the next favourite seemed to be the Roselle which has a mature, well-bodied taste.  Of course, everyone enjoyed the Chocolate Velvet which is always the last tasting of the evening.

Anyway, we are almost back to normal so expect to hear from us soon.  Unfortunately, I have not got a photo of the Elixir Tasting to show you but, Cotton Tree Lodge has promised to furnish me with one of their photos at some point.  So, I will insert a picture in the near future…hopefully!

Munchkin and Gnome's Guide to Elixir Tasting.

Liqueur.TastingWe are doing an Elixir Tasting for 15 people at Cotton Tree lodge tonight.  So, whilst waiting for the appointed time (it will be a late night) I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about how we have devised a system to taste Elixirs (or Liqueurs).

The purpose of Our Elixir Tastings is to create an experience which allows people to expand and quantify on their olfactory and taste senses by taking them through a flight of various liqueurs.

Gnome usually goes through the history and background, expanding on the use of this beverage as a medicine.  He talks about the four ingredients which include alcohol,sugar,water and flavouring.  Basically, any material which is aromatic, coloured and medicinal makes up the fourth component and examples of this are fruit, herbs or flowers.

My part is to take the tasters through the journey of “eye”, “nose” and “mouth”.

The “eye” component includes the colour and the clarity.  I always like to emphasize the importance of the clearness of the liquid because it represents time and dedication in the making process.  We allow our Elixirs to clear naturally by gravity and we take the time to let all the sediment settle down to the bottom.  The clear liquid is siphoned out of its vessel and left to sit again and the racking process is performed on a monthly basis until clarity is achieved.  It usually takes about 12 months to get to crystal clearness and in a few cases, this perfect visual appearance is never reached, despite our conscientious methods.  The next step is the swirling of the glass to see the “legs” of the liqueur which gives an indication of the sugar content of the drink.  High sugar content is shown by wider legs and a tendency for the liquid to cling to side of the glass and travel slowly back down to the bottom.

Mature.Roselle.ElixirNext, is the assessment of the “nose” component which I feel is actually the most important part of the tasting because the human olfactory system is very sensitive and has the ability to separate and sense hundreds of different smells.  Compare this to the human taste system which can only detect 5 components (sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami).  The inhalation of the liqueur will give an idea of smell and the actual exhalation combines the flavour component.

Usually at this point, everyone gets twitchy because they want to start drinking so I try to speed it along to the taste experience.  This part involves explaining the intricacies of “mouth-feel” and making people think about texture and taste.  Usually, this is guzzling time but tonight I am going to do something different and request that they hold the tasting in their mouth for a few seconds, in order to saturate the taste buds, before swallowing.

And so tonight, I have chosen the following Elixirs for tasting: Lemongrass, Limecello, Passion Fruit, Cacao Fruit, Balam (Mayan White Cacao), Culantro, Suriname Cherry and Roselle (Sorrel).

Just.A.Smidgen.Elixir.RowGnome is also going through a timed series of various fermentation products to emphasize the importance of time required in reaching the full potential of a mature final product.  Also, there will a bit on bitters if we can fit it in…

Phew…hope everyone enjoys themselves tonight!!