Crème de cassis

"Cassis de Dijon" redirects here. Not to be confused with Cassis de Dijon (case law).

Crème de cassis (French pronunciation: [kʁɛm də kasis]) (also known as Cassis liqueur) is a sweet, dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants.^[1]

Crème de cassis

Crème de cassis bottled at 15% ABV.
Type	Liqueur
Country of origin	France (Burgundy)
Introduced	1841
Alcohol by volume	15%
Colour	Dark red
Flavour	Sweet
Ingredients	Blackcurrant

Several cocktails are made with crème de cassis, notably the popular wine cocktail kir^[2] and its sparkling variant, the kir royal.^[3] Other cocktails that use it include the original tequila sunrise^[3][4] and the El Diabolo,^[3][5] a tequila buck.

It may also be served as an after-dinner liqueur or as a frappé.

Ingredients

It is made from blackcurrants that are crushed and soaked in alcohol, with sugar subsequently added.

The quality of crème de cassis depends upon the variety of fruit used, the content of the berries, and the production process.^{[clarification needed]}

Origin and production

The modern version of the beverage first appeared in 1841, when it displaced "ratafia de cassis", which had been produced in prior centuries.

While crème de cassis is a specialty of Burgundy, it is also made in Anjou,^[6] England,^[7] Luxembourg, Alberta, Quebec, Vermont and Tasmania.^[8]

In 1979, Germany attempted to restrict the import based on the alcohol content being too low. The Europe Court of Justice found this to be a breach of trade, in Rewe-Zentral AG v Bundesmonopolverwaltung für Branntwein.^[9]

In 2015, the new protected geographical indication (PGI) "Crème de Cassis de Bourgogne" was approved. Promoted by a syndicate of fruit producers and liqueurs companies from Burgundy, this "Crème de Cassis de Bourgogne" guarantees the Burgundian origin and the minimum quantity of berries used in its production, essentially the variety Noir de Bourgogne. If the berries come specifically from Dijon, the capital of Burgundy, the label may say "Crème de Cassis de Dijon" instead.^{[citation needed]}

Sales

Nearly 16 million litres (4.2 million US gallons) of crème de cassis are produced annually in France.^[10] It is consumed mostly in France but is also exported.

References

1. Duplais, Pierre; Duplais, Pierre Jr. (1871). A Treatise on the Manufacture and Distillation of Alcoholic Liquors. Philadelphia: H. C. Baird. p. 518.
2. Marianski, Stanley; Marianski, Adam (September 2012). Home Production of Vodkas, Infusions & Liqueurs. Bookmagic LLC. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-9836973-4-3.
3. "How to Use Cassis in Cocktails". Punch. 2 March 2023.
4. "Original Tequila Sunrise". Difford's Guide.
5. "El Diablo". Difford's Guide.
6. "Crème de Cassis d'Anjou at giffard.com". Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
7. O'Sullivan, Eve (21 December 2013). "Meet the cassis producer: 'We used to have 1,000 pickers at a time'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
8. "Wines & Ports, Hartzview Vineyard, Tasmania". Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
9. ECJ 22 May 1978, nr. C-120/78, Cassis de Dijon, paragraph 8, subparagraph 2.
10. "Les Crèmes de Cassis". www.marque-alcool.com. Retrieved 20 February 2023.