Licor 43, or ''Cuarenta y Tres'' (Spanish for "43"), is a Spanish

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, 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-age ...

, made in Cartagena, Spain.

History

Licor 43 was invented in 1946 by the siblings Diego, Angel, and Josefina Zamora, along with Emilio Restoy, Josefina's husband. The Licor 43 website states they based their recipe on the ''Liqvor Mirabilis'' (marvellous liquid), a golden, aromatic elixir produced and infused from local fruits and herbs in Carthago Nova during the 3rd century. ''Liqvor Mirabilis'' was encountered by the Romans when they conquered the region in 209 BC; despite the Romans banning its production and consumption, the

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

continued producing in secret. This legend served as the inspiration for the Zamoras' invention of Licor 43. The name of the modern-day liqueur originates from its use of 43 different ingredients; while its recipe is a closely guarded secret by the Zamora family, it is known to contain citrus and fruit juices, and to be flavoured with

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 ...

, among other aromatic herbs and spices.

Commercial performance

Licor 43 is the most popular liqueur in Spain. As of 2011, it was the fastest growing premium liqueur in the world in its category, and is present in more than 60 countries. During a 2015 inquiry into the best-selling alcohols in The World's 50 Best Bars (the bar version of William Reed's The World's 50 Best Restaurants), Licor 43 was ranked as the 9th best-selling digestif worldwide. According to the International Wines and Spirits Record (IWSR), a data analytics company that tracks alcoholic beverage trends and measures country, category, and brand performance, Licor 43 was the fastest growing liquor of scale globally in 2017.

Uses and variations

Mexican carajillos specifically call for "licor del 43" as the alcohol combined with

espresso Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...

and ice. In the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, it is an essential ingredient for a barraquito, a variant of the highly popular cortado condensada (espresso with condensed milk) coffee. A "mini-beer" is a Licor 43

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

designed to visually imitate a

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

. A miniature pint glass is mostly filled with Licor 43 and topped with a chilled dairy-based liquid, such as heavy cream or Irish Cream. The colour of Licor 43 mimics the amber colour of a pale beer, and the dairy product mimics the white colour of a beer's foamy head. A common cocktail variation in Mexico is the “Sandrillo” which includes Licor 43 shaken with whole milk.

References

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External links

Official website
Cartagena, Spain Spanish liqueurs Vanilla liqueurs