The Most Collected Liqueurs From Last Week

Pimm's No. 1 is the most popular of the liqueur category known as cups. First created in 1840, No. 1 uses gin as its base along with a secret blend of spices, fruit, and botanicals. There have been other Pimm's over the years; No. 2 had a Scotch base, No. 3 used brandy, No. 4 was rum, No. 5 rye, and No. 6 used Vodka. They have all had been discontinued, but Diageo which currently owns Pimm's, rebranded No. 3 as Winter's Cup and it still uses brandy as its base. Every bar, both at home and otherwise, has their own recipe for their perfect Pimm's Cup cocktail. Some use lemonade, others lemon-lime soda or ginger ale. The sky is the limit for fruit additions, but strawberry and cucumber slices are quite common, especially during Wimbledon.

Disaronno is an amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur) with a recipe, the brand claims, that dates back to 1525. It was first commercially produced and marketed by the Reina family in the early 20th century in Saronna, just outside of Milano. Originally called Amaretto di Saronno, the iconic square bottle first arrived in 1942. In 2001, the brand dropped Amaretto from its name and is now simply called Disaronno.

First introduced in 1974, Baileys Original Irish Cream is made from Irish whiskey, Irish cream, spirit, and chocolate. This brand is currently owned by Diageo and there are many other flavors in the Baileys portfolio including vegan and gluten free versions. Bottled at 17% ABV in Ireland.

Fernet-Branca was created in 1845 by Bernardino Branca in Milan where it is still made today. It is made from a proprietary recipe of 27 different herbs, roots, and spices only some of which are disclosed. They include: aloe ferox, bitter orange, chamomile, cardamom, cinchona bark, cinnamon, galangal, gentian, iris, laurel, laraha, linden, myrrh, zedoary and saffron. It is aged in 15,000-20,000 liter Slovenian oak vats for at least a year. Due to the popularity of the brand in Argentina, a second distillery located outside of Buenos Aires was founded in 1941. Fernet-Branca & Coke is how it is most consumed there.

Amaro Montenegro is made with 40 botanicals using three processes: boiling, maceration, and distillation. Some of these botanicals include: sweet & bitter oranges, petite dried oranges, coriander seeds, marjoram, oregano, artemista blend, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. After this process, 12 mother extracts are crafted. From there, the 12 extracts are blended to form "six aromatic notes" which are blended with alcohol, sugar, and water. Lastly, a seventh ingredient called the "premio" or "prize" is crafted from 5 botanicals which are micro-distilled. One liter of "premio" is used per 15,000 bottles. Amaro Montenegro was created by Stanislao Cobianchi who had traveled the world rather than follow his family's desire for him to join the clergy. He founded his company in 1885 and named it after Princess Elena of Montenegro who went on to become Queen of Italy in 1900.

Grand Marnier is an orange liqueur made from a blend of cognac (51%) and bitter orange distillate (49%). To make this distillate, the bitter orange variety citrus Bigaradia is harvested and the peels are sun-dried. The peels then macerate in neutral alcohol for ~10 days before it is distilled. This bitter orange distillate is then blended with cognac and further aged in large oak vats for 1-6 months. Originally named Curaçao Marnier when created in 1880 by founder Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle, it was soon changed to Grand Marnier after friends declared it to be grand. Also called Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge or simply GrandMa by those in the bar industry.

St. Germain took the cocktail world by storm when it debuted as the first available elderflower liqueur in 2007. To make the liqueur, elderflower petals are macerated in grape eau-de-vie, with the resulting combination then sweetened. St. Germain was created by the late Robert Cooper, and is now a part of the Bacardi portfolio.

Aperol first debuted a century ago, in 1919. Known for its orange hue, and today for the ubiquitous and eponymous Aperol Spritz, Aperol is flavored with ingredients including cinchona, rhubarb, and gentian. The bittersweet liqueur has been a part of the Campari portfolio since 2003.

Cointreau is a clear, orange flavored liqueur developed in 1875 by Édouard Cointreau, son of one of the co-founding brothers of the distillery. In 1885 it became the first registered brand of triple sec, although the brand dropped "triple sec" from its name in early 20th century. It is made with both bitter and sweet orange peels which are macerated in neutral alcohol and then distilled. The only other ingredients are sugar and water. Suitable for any recipe calling for triple sec.

Campari was created circa 1860 by a Lombardy-born man named Gaspare Campari. He worked his way up to barman in a cafe in Torino before moving to Milano where he created his renowned bitter concoction. His namesake bitters was first known as Bitter all’usa d’Holanda and its ingredients have never been disclosed other than to say that “it is the result of an infusion of bitter herbs, aromatic plants, and fruit in alcohol and water”. The only other change to the original recipe occured in 2006 when carmine (a natural dye sourced from crushed cochineal insects) ceased to be used for coloring. Now artificial colors are used.