Liquor manufacturer de Kuyper writes about its products on the official website: “For over 300 years we have been making our sweet liqueurs (cordials) with love.” The word cordials itself comes from the Latin cordialis and means “from the heart” or “for the heart”.
Sweet strong liqueurs cordials are one of the oldest representatives of alcoholic beverages and key elements for many modern cocktails. Strictly speaking, the terms “cordial” and “liquor” themselves are synonymous and interchangeable.
history of the company
Archaeological excavations prove that the first sweet liqueurs appeared before the 1510th century AD, but the modern “cordial” was invented by Benedictine monks in 1600. In the 1695s, liqueurs became one of the staples in the Dutch market, and in 1 the Dutchman Petrus De XNUMXKuyper founded the production of casks for aging and named it after himself.
By 1752, the company had refocused on the production of alcohol, not containers. The main product of the winery in those days was genever gin. By the XNUMXth century, De Kuyper entered the European market, also exporting products to Great Britain and Canada.
At the beginning of the 1911th century, with the invention of rectification, it became possible to obtain neutral alcohol, which became the basis for most liquors. In 1933, the company’s range was replenished with sweet liqueurs, and in XNUMX the DeKuyper brand entered the American market and became the leader in its segment.
By 1960, production was finally reoriented from gins to liqueurs, although the company’s assortment includes more than 70 items, including fruit brandies, schnapps, and ready-made bottled cocktails.
Today, the company is headed by the 11th owner, Bob DeKuyper. The corporation produces more than 60 types of liqueurs.
Types of De Kuyper liqueurs
The most popular liqueurs are De Kuyper.
Fruity:
- Almond is an almond liqueur.
- Amaretto is a 30% almond distillate liqueur with vanilla and citrus flavors.
- Anisette is an alcoholic drink with tones of anise and licorice, an ideal digestif.
- Blood Orange is a cordial based on Mediterranean oranges.
- Blue Curaçao is a citrus liqueur with notes of orange, lemon and bitter oranges.
Creamy:
- Crème de Noyaux is an almond flavored nut liqueur based on apricot kernels.
- Crème de banane – banana extract with a strength of 24%.
- Crème de Cacao is a sweet chocolate liqueur based on African cocoa beans and vanilla from Madagascar.
To equip the bar:
- ButterShots is a 15% sweet liqueur with creamy toffee and cow candy flavors.
- Hot damn! – a warming 15-degree cinnamon liqueur.
- Peachtree – peach alcohol with a strength of 19%.
- Amaretto is an almond-based liqueur.
- Blue Curacao is one of the most popular citrus liqueurs in the world. A special taste of the drink is given by bitter oranges.
- Razzmatazz is a raspberry liqueur with a strength of 16.5%.
Composition of De Kuyper liqueurs
The manufacturer does not disclose the exact recipe of its liqueurs, but claims that they are all made only from natural ingredients: fruit pulp, skins, seeds, roots, flowers and leaves, as well as fruit extracts and concentrates.
DeKuyper uses both maceration (soaking in alcohol) and distillation (distillation). Drinks owe their bright color not to artificial dyes, but to natural herbs and spices.
Some liqueurs contain several dozen ingredients. Depending on the type, the finished drink can be additionally aged in an oak barrel. All De Kuyper liqueurs contain sugar.