Liqueur is the broadest and least understood family on a spirits shelf. It covers the maraschino a bartender reaches for, the blackcurrant a kir is built on, the coffee bottle at the back of the cupboard and the bright blue thing nobody can name. They look unrelated. Legally they are one category, and once you know what holds them together the shelf stops being random.
This guide explains what a liqueur is, what the law requires, how the main families differ, and which bottle to start with.
What a liqueur is
A liqueur is a spirit that has been sweetened and flavoured. That is the whole idea, and both Australian and European law define it in almost those words.
Under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, Standard 2.7.5 defines a liqueur as "an alcoholic beverage that is a spirit, flavoured by or mixed with other foods, which contains more than 15% alcohol by volume, measured at 20 degrees C". Section 2.7.5 to 3 then says a food sold as a liqueur must be a liqueur. That is the Australian floor: sweetened, flavoured, above 15 per cent.
European law, which is what most of the imported bottles on the shelf were made to, is more specific. Regulation (EU) 2019/787, Annex I, category 33 sets a minimum strength of 15 per cent by volume and a minimum sugar content of 100 grams per litre expressed as invert sugar, with two lower floors: 70 grams per litre for cherry and sour cherry liqueurs where the alcohol is exclusively cherry spirit, and 80 grams per litre for liqueurs flavoured exclusively with gentian, a similar plant or wormwood.
Two things follow from that. First, sweetness is not optional. A liqueur that is not sweet is not a liqueur, which is why a bottle of gin and a bottle of sloe gin sit in different categories even though one is made from the other. Second, the strength floor is low. Fifteen per cent is roughly wine strength, which is why liqueurs run from the high teens to the mid forties and why the number on the label matters more here than in a category where everything is bottled at 40.
The base spirit can be almost anything. The regulation allows ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, a distillate of agricultural origin, one or more spirit drinks, or a combination, so a liqueur can be built on neutral alcohol, on brandy, on rum or on whisky. That choice of base is a large part of why two bottles of the same flavour taste different.
The named styles, and what the names guarantee
Some liqueur names are just marketing. A handful are legal definitions with numbers attached. These are the ones worth recognising, because the word on the label is a promise about what is inside.
Creme de something. Category 34 of the same regulation. A liqueur carrying "creme de" plus a fruit or raw material must contain at least 250 grams per litre of sweetening products, expressed as invert sugar, and the named ingredient must be the one giving the predominant flavour. It has nothing to do with dairy, and the regulation specifically excludes milk products from the raw materials. The name is about density of sugar and fruit, not texture. Gabriel Boudier Creme de Framboise is the raspberry one and Gabriel Boudier Creme de Violette is the violet one that an aviation is built around.
Creme de cassis, and Cassis de Dijon. The same category adds a higher bar for blackcurrant: the name "creme de cassis" may only be used for liqueurs made with blackcurrants that carry more than 400 grams per litre of sweetening products. Vedrenne publishes 48 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres on the technical sheet for its Creme de Cassis, which is 480 grams per litre. Separately, "Cassis de Dijon" is a French geographical indication, recognised by the INAO in 2013, and Maison Briottet sets out the specification: it must be produced in the commune of Dijon, made by macerating blackcurrant berries in alcohol, contain at least 200 grams of blackcurrants per litre of finished product and at least 25 per cent Noir de Bourgogne berries. Briottet Creme de Cassis de Dijon is made to it. For a blackcurrant liqueur pitched at cocktails rather than at a kir, Vedrenne Supercassis at 20 per cent is the denser option.
Maraschino. Category 37, and much stricter than most people expect. Maraschino is a colourless liqueur whose flavour comes mainly from a distillate of marasca cherries or from cherries macerated in agricultural alcohol or in marasca distillate, with at least 250 grams per litre of sweetening products and a minimum strength of 24 per cent. It must not be coloured. That last clause is the one that catches people out: maraschino is clear, and a red cherry liqueur is something else. Luxardo Maraschino at 32 per cent is the reference bottle. Luxardo describes putting its marasca cherries into alcoholic infusion in larch wood vats with leaves and branches for up to three years, distilling that, maturing only the heart of the distillate in ash wood vats, then adding a syrup of water and sugar to bring it down to 32 per cent. Vedrenne Maraschino and Gabriel Boudier Maraschino are the alternatives.
Sloe gin. Category 35. Sloe gin is a liqueur made by macerating sloes in gin, with the possible addition of sloe juice, minimum 25 per cent. It is a liqueur, not a gin, which is exactly why it appears in this article and not in a gin one. We cover where it sits among the gin styles in our guide to gin styles.
Nocino. Category 38. Flavour given mainly by macerating, or macerating and distilling, whole green walnuts, at least 100 grams per litre of sweetening products, minimum 30 per cent. Autonomy Nocino is the Australian one. Because the European name carries a 30 per cent floor, the strength on any bottle using the word is worth reading.
Sambuca. Category 36. A colourless aniseed liqueur with at least 350 grams per litre of sweetening products and a minimum of 38 per cent. It must not be coloured, which is why the black expressions are usually sold under a different legal name.
The families, in the order you will meet them
Beyond the named styles, liqueurs sort into a handful of practical groups. This is how to think about the shelf.
Fruit. The largest group in our own range, and the one that does most of the work in cocktails. Berries, stone fruit, citrus and tropical fruit, usually on a neutral base, usually between 15 and 25 per cent. Vedrenne Creme de Peche de Vigne and Gabriel Boudier Creme de Mure are good entry points. The whole range sits on our Fruit Liqueurs page.
Citrus peel. Its own sub-group, because the flavour comes from peel rather than juice and the strengths run higher. Triple sec and curacao are the same idea at different sweetness and strength. Vedrenne Triple Sec at 35 per cent is dry enough to hold its own in a margarita or a sidecar. Vedrenne Curacao Bleu at 25 per cent is the same orange peel flavour with colour added, which answers the question people are usually asking when they search for a blue liqueur: it is orange, not blueberry. Gabriel Boudier Curacao Triple Sec is the stronger French option.
Lemon, on its own. Limoncello is its own conversation, made by steeping lemon peel rather than distilling it, and Australia now makes a lot of it. Luxardo Limoncello is the familiar Italian one, and our limoncello guide covers the Italian and Australian bottles side by side.
Herbal. Alpine and monastic liqueurs built on infusions of flowers, roots and herbs. They run stronger than the fruit family and they are usually drunk after a meal rather than mixed. Dolin makes its genepi in Savoie from the small yellow alpine flower picked in high summer at around 2,000 metres and distilled to old recipes. Dolin Liqueur de Genepi Chamois is the one to look at. Elderflower is the gentler herbal option, and Gabriel Boudier Fleur de Sureau is the standard build.
Bitter. The herbal family shades into amaro and the bitter liqueurs, which is a large enough subject to have its own article. Our guide to bitters explains the difference between dashing bitters and a bitter liqueur you pour, and the range is on the Amaro page.
Nut and kernel. Almond, walnut and hazelnut. Amaretto is the best known. Vedrenne Amaretto is the French version and White Possum Amaretto is made in Australia. For walnut, Salamandre Vieille Liqueur de Noix is the French one.
Coffee. A category Australian distillers have taken over. Vedrenne Liqueur de Cafe at 21 per cent is the French reference. Kawa Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur and Canberra Distillery Coffee Liqueur are the local ones. The full set is on the Coffee Liqueur page.
Cream. Dairy or nut cream blended into a spirit base. These are the shortest lived bottles on the shelf and the ones that most reward keeping cold once opened. Gabriel Boudier Coffee Rum Peanut Cream and Sortilege Maple Cream are two different takes on the idea, one built on coffee and rum and one on maple.
Spiced and rum based. Falernum is the one worth knowing, because it exists as both a liqueur and a non alcoholic syrup and the two are not interchangeable. Our falernum guide sorts that out.
How to use them
Most liqueurs are built to be a component, not the drink. A useful rule with a new bottle is to treat anything under about 25 per cent as a modifier measured in millilitres, and anything over about 35 per cent as something that can carry a drink on its own.
Three builds cover most of what a home shelf needs. A blackcurrant liqueur with sparkling wine gives you a kir royale. A citrus peel liqueur with a base spirit and fresh lemon or lime gives you the whole sour family, margarita and sidecar included. A coffee liqueur with vodka and cold espresso gives you the drink everyone actually asks for.
Storage is the part people get wrong. Fruit and cream liqueurs are not stable the way a 40 per cent spirit is. Once open, keep the fruit ones dark and cool and use them inside a year, and keep cream liqueurs refrigerated.
Where to start
- One bottle that unlocks the most drinks: Vedrenne Triple Sec at 35 per cent.
- The classic cocktail cabinet bottle: Luxardo Maraschino at 32 per cent.
- For a kir or a kir royale: Briottet Creme de Cassis de Dijon.
- For an espresso martini: Kawa Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur.
- Something herbal after dinner: Dolin Liqueur de Genepi Chamois.
- An Australian one: White Possum Amaretto.
- The blue one, explained: Vedrenne Curacao Bleu at 25 per cent.
The full range sits on our Liqueurs page, and we deliver to every Australian state and the ACT.