Domaine de Canton is a
ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...
-flavored liqueur made in France since 2007. Its earlier formulation (called Canton) was made in China from 1992–1997.
Original recipe
Under the name The Original Canton Delicate Ginger Liqueur the liqueur was produced until 1997 in Doumen, a district of the city of
Zhuhai
Zhuhai; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Jyūhói''; Chinese postal romanization, also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern ...
in the
Pearl River Delta
The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, ...
of China's southern
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
province, near
Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
. It was sold in limited quantity in the United States before high-end Asian
fusion cuisine
Fusion cuisine is a cuisine that combines elements of different cuisine, culinary traditions that originate from different countries, regions, or cultures. Cuisines of this type are not categorized according to any one particular cuisine style an ...
became popular. In its original formulation, the liqueur's ingredients were advertised to include six varieties of ginger,
ginseng
Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as South China ginseng (''Panax notoginseng, P. notoginseng''), Korean ginseng (''Panax ginseng, P. ginseng''), and American ginseng (''American ginseng, P. quinquefol ...
, "gentle herbs," "finest
spirits,"
brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...
, and
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
. Its strength was 20 percent alcohol (40 proof), and it was sold in decorative faceted glass bottles of various sizes.
The product's stay on the market lasted from 1992 to 1995. It was officially discontinued after 1997.
New recipe
In 2007, John Cooper (son of the US importer of the original product, N. J. Cooper) revived the name and idea by producing a new ginger liqueur called Canton Ginger & Cognac Liqueur. Canton Ginger Liqueur follows a new recipe and is produced in
Jarnac, France. The new formula is 28 percent alcohol (56 proof), is golden in color, and is packaged in a
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
-shaped bottle. It contains syrup made from
crystallized Chinese baby ginger, Grand Champagne
cognac
Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.
Cogn ...
,
neutral spirit,
orange blossom honey from
Provence
Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
, and
vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...
.
Domaine de Canton was released in New York City in August 2007. By 2008, the name of the liqueur had changed once again, to Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur.
The liqueur won Double Gold Medal (Best of Show) in the herbal/botanical liqueur category at the 2008
San Francisco World Spirits Competition
The San Francisco World Spirits Competition was founded in 2001 by Anthony Dias Blue as an off-shoot of the San Francisco International Wine Competition. It assesses hundreds of entrants annually (1,407 in 2013 from 63 countries) with tastings i ...
. It won Best of Show in the 2007–2008
World Beverage Competition.
See also
*
Ginger beer
*
Ginger wine
References
*"Cordial trade successes 'tween U.S. and China (Charles Jacquin et Compagnie Inc.'s Original Canton ginger liqueur)." ''Packaging Digest'', March 1994.
Awards
Domaine de Canton's packaging won a 2008
Pentawards for packaging design in the luxury spirits category, for its bamboo shaped bottle along with the appointed closure on the top.
References
External links
Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur , Official Site
21 August 2007
Review from Liquor Snob
{{Ginger Plant
French liqueurs
Herbal liqueurs
Chinese alcoholic drinks
Chinese distilled drinks
Guangdong
Manhasset, New York
Ginger