The refreshing drink, known as the “king of mint liqueurs”, comes from the city of Turku, Finland.
The amazing combination of icy freshness and enveloping softness has turned Minttu into the world’s best-selling mint liqueur.
Brand History
Today, you won’t surprise anyone with menthol drinks, but in the late 80s, the idea of creating an ice liqueur with the addition of fresh mint looked innovative and unusual.
The recipe for the legendary product was developed by the Americans, and the Finnish factory Chymos was chosen to implement the project. The plant in the southwest of the northern country, founded in 1906, specialized in the production of confectionery, non-alcoholic juices and alcohol from natural raw materials.
The name for the new brand was taken from the simplest one – from the main ingredient (“minttu” in Finnish means “mint”). But they approached the development of the design with creativity: the manufacturer settled not on the usual round bottle, but on an elongated rectangular bottle with smoothed edges, both in shape and in color resembling a piece of ice.
Initially, mint alcohol was sold only in the United States, where it quickly gained a lot of fans. Soon the brand also conquered European markets, in particular German and Austrian. The Scandinavian drink began to be especially popular in ski resorts, where its original taste and warming effect were appreciated.
At home, Minttu began to be sold only in the 90s. Around the same time, the initial strength of the drink (50%) was reduced to 35-40 degrees, and he himself moved from the category of schnapps to the category of liqueurs. As a result, sales fell slightly, but things did not reach a critical level.
In 2008, the Swedish company V&S Group, together with its subsidiary V&S Finland (the owner of the Chymos brand), became part of the French giant Pernod Ricard.
Types of mint liqueur Mintou
Mint Peppermint
A traditional herbal liqueur. It has pronounced menthol notes and a sweet aftertaste. Combines icy freshness with velvety softness.
Mint Pear
Fragrant mint-fruity drink with pear.
Mint Choco
Surprisingly harmonious liquor with the inclusion of milk chocolate. Lovers of sweet drinks will love it.
Mint Black
An original minty product enhanced with salty black licorice. It has a pleasant tartness.
All liqueurs are made from natural ingredients according to a secret recipe.
Main components: alcohol, water, sugar, mint essence, cocoa butter, fruit extracts, licorice, chocolate.
How to drink mint
Mint liqueur is recommended to drink strongly chilled, even ice. Usually, the drink is placed in the freezer before sampling, where it acquires a viscous consistency.
A popular way of tasting is the classic shot: the drink is poured into small glasses and drunk in one gulp.
Minta is also added to cocktails, combined with black coffee, fruits, berries, hot chocolate, ice cream.
Interesting Facts
For its high strength and crystal clarity, the liqueur is often called “Finnish vodka”. At the same time, high-grade alcohol is drunk gently and easily.
To get a colorless Minta, the manufacturer uses distilled water and a special grade of sugar.
If you carefully examine the inside of the label, you can see a bigfoot there. Locals claim that the drink was created specifically to meet the Yeti. It not only warms while traveling in the mountains, but also eliminates the fear of the owner of the snowy slopes.
Relevance: 21.06.2019
Tags: Liqueurs, Pourings, Liqueurs, Brands of liqueurs