Many are familiar with the french apéritif, which originated in the “Bourgogne”, or Burgundy region of France, where one puts a splash of Crème de Cassis into a glass of cold white wine to create a “kir”.
For a Kir Royale, one splashes the berry liqueur into a glass of champagne. Cassis is made with black currants. Add more cassis, for more sweet berry flavor.
I love this glass jug of Cassis de Bourgogne I bought in France years ago. When it is empty, I rinse it out and refill it.
But, guess what? One needn’t stop at the berry flavor. Liquers made of different fruits can be added to wine, champagne, or sparkling water.
At Les Trois Etoiles, or Three Star in Saint-Paul, we found many more options to flavor our white wine. A hobby of distilling fruits into liqueurs has turned into an all encompassing business for this couple. As Monsieur creates the flavorful product, Madame runs the shop.
These fruit liqueurs have an alcohol level of 17 – 20%. In addition to liqueurs they sell sumptuous flavored vinegars and olive oils.
One of our favorites was this pungent shallot flavored vinegar. The shallot flavor was fresh and pungent.
A filled wineglass is placed next to each of the traditional containers, so one can smell the liquids.
Upon request, one can sample the beverages as well. The tastes of these liqueurs were exquisite. They have truly managed to capture the essence of the fresh, ripe fruit. They have many different bottle sizes, filled to order.
We decided to try a little peach liqueur,
and a splash of pear,
we couldn’t possibly leave without a bottle of yellow plum liqueur,
and the cherry liqueur was so freshly intense, it had to come along as well.
And now, we always have a little taste of France to savor and share.
Kir, anyone?
Les Trois Etoiles also sells spirits, such as Armagnac, made by others.
Fruit liqueurs can be found in some in liquor stores and wine stores in the US..
One of our favorite producers in the US is Clear Creek distillery out of Oregon.
These liqueurs are lovely straight up after dinner as well.
Just delightful. Give me a Kir Royal any day. Yum! So lovely to read about your life. Feel free to drop by my blog at http://lifeonplanetbaby.blogspot.com and say hi. Jane
Mrs. E's preferred cocktail is the Kir Royale. I find that a twist of lemon peel finishes them nicely.