Crème de cassis () (also known as Cassis liqueur) is a sweet, dark red

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyon ...

made from

blackcurrant The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, whe ...

s. Several

cocktail A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...

s are made with crème de cassis, including the popular wine cocktail, kir. It may also be served as an after-dinner liqueur or as a frappé.

Ingredients

It is made from

s that are crushed and soaked in alcohol, with sugar subsequently added.

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 Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

, it is also made in

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duke ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. The quality of crème de cassis depends upon the variety of

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

used, the content of the

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, ras ...

, and the production process. If it is labelled "Crème de Cassis de

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlie ...

", one is guaranteed berries from the commune of Dijon. 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 ''Rewe-Zentral v Bundesmonopolverwaltung für Branntwein'' (1979) Case C-120/78, popularly known as Cassis de Dijon after its subject matter, is an EU law decision of the European Court of Justice. The Court held that a regulation applying to bot ...

''. 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

, 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.

Sales

Nearly of crème de cassis are produced annually in France. It is consumed mostly in France but is also exported.

In popular culture

It is a favourite drink of the fictional detective

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

.Agatha Christie, ''Hercule Poirot's Casebook'', 1984, page 320.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creme De Cassis French liqueurs Berry liqueurs