Taste of the Week. Viking Blackcurrant Liqueur

Taste of the Week

Viking Blackcurrant Liqueur

Viking Blackcurrant Liqueur 12.5% ABV, 500ml bottle, bought at Wine Pop-Up at Grainstore Ballymaloe

Lots of tips available on how best to use this superb Blackcurrant Liqueur by Waterford based Viking Drinks. In Kirs and Cocktails and also great with food, they say, including with Blackcurrant and Apple Strudel.

That Strudel stared me thinking. Not that there was any of it in the house. But there were some of those marvellous cherries from Con Traas’s Cahir Apple Farm. And, as if by magic, a Clafoutis was soon on the table.

The outside table that is as we are making the best of the fine weather. With the dinner finished, we sat down in the sun, cut slices of Clafoutis and poured a couple of small glasses (about 80ml) of the liqueur. Not quite a match made in heaven but certainly a winner thanks to two fantastic producers, one in Tipp, the other in Waterford. Our new Taste of the Week.

And a big thanks to May Dennison, mother of David Dennison (the producer of the liqueur and many more drinks beside). Here’s how he did it, following his mother’s recipe: Ben Cannon blackcurrants are blended with our Rondo red wine & our own honey for six days before being gently cold pressed and finished carefully with grape spirit.  This liqueur is sweet but not clawing. Footnote - This is an Award winning liqueur , Gold at Blas Na hÉireann awards, less viscous than 2020, with added Blackberry and Black Mulberry

How to use it:

Try as a Kir* or Kir Royale, as a mixer for your favorite gin or vodka or neat over ice as an after dinner digestive.

Cocktail Tip: ice, 2 parts gin, dash of blackcurrant liqueur, topped with Elderflower Tonic.

Cocktail Tip: ice, 2 parts vodka, dash of blackcurrant liqueur, slice of lime and topped with soda water.

Also great with food – try a dash over ice-cream or over a pavlova/meringue. Pairs brilliantly with blackcurrant and apple strudel with cream.

Winemakers tip: As this liqueur is unfiltered and may contain natural sediment shake gently before use. Store upright in a cool place when opened.

Limited Edition Product –  Available 6th of November 2021 . A perfect Christmas gift!

Suitable for vegans and coeliacs.

12.6% ABV

Available also online at Viking Drinks €26.95

See much more about the drink here 

*And speaking of kirs, here is one that came about more or less by accident. There was a little of the delicious Chateau Gairoird Organic Rose Côtes de Provence (from O'Briens Wine) left over towards the end of an evening, close to a glass. There was also a little drop of this marvellous Viking Blackcurrant Liqueur in the fridge so I introduced them to each other and this improvised Kir turned out to be quite a treat, even if the traditional Kir is made with white wine and creme de cassis (blackcurrant).