According to EU spirits law, a liqueur (from the Latin liquor for "liquid") is a mostly viscous spirit drink obtained by flavouring ethanol or a distillate of agricultural origin or spirits. The alcohol content must be at least 15% to 40%, the sugar content indicated as invert sugar must be at least 100 g/l (exceptions are gentian liqueur with 80 gl and cherry liqueur with 70 g/l). The designation "-creme" preceded by the name of the fruit, such as "Weintraubencreme Likör" (grape cream liqueur) or "Marillencreme Likör" (apricot cream liqueur) is reserved for liqueurs with a minimum sugar content of 250 g/l and Cassis (Crème de Cassis) for liqueurs made from blackcurrants with at least 400 g/l. A liqueur wine, on the other hand, refers to various wines whose fermentation process has been interrupted by enriching them with alcohol(spritted). These are particularly popular in southern countries, for example Liquoroso in Italy.
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Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien