All specialty wines and liqueurs on this page are excellent and carry our highest recommendation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Germain, Product of France

Fresh, hand selected elderflowers imparting a crisp melange of flavors with hints of citrus and tropical fruits.

This liqueur is very special and unique. It seems expensive but the bottle is large and a little goes a long way. You can sip this wonderful treat as a dessert liqueur or even better, use it for mixed drink recipes.

Many cocktails include this liqueur. We have found that using St. Germain as an additive for an average wine, especially white wine or champagne, will enhance the wine as if it was floral.

 

Lychee, Flavored Liqueur

This is another most interesting and unique flavor. Lychee, an Asian fruit, resembles a  cherry. The flavor is all its own.

Very tropical in nature… not overly sweet… not tart… it also is excellent for sipping on its own or as a mixer for wine or cocktails. Also great over vanilla ice cream.

Use the link to find other ideas for Lychee.

 

 Cherry Kijafa, Specialty Wine

Years ago a friend introduced us to this unique wine. We finally found it at Silver Dollar Liqueur in Pagosa Springs.

Kijafa is made with cherry wine and natural flavors. It can be enjoyed on the rocks or in a tall glass with your favorite soft drink and ice. Pouring it over vanilla ice cream is a taste treat to be remembered.

Every time we sip this wine, it reminds us of old friends and good times.

 

Lemoncillo, Giori, Product of Italy

“Lemoncello liqueur is made by soaking lemon zests in neutral grain alcohol for a month or more. The result is a thick, sweet dessert cordial with an intense lemon-flavor. ”

We first learned about this liqueur from the movie Under the Tuscan Sun.  We found a bottle at Liqueur World in Durango, Colorado. It has a very lemon sweet flavor and is best used in mixes and recipes. Drinking it alone is an acquired taste from our viewpoint. You can use it to alter the flavor of a below average wine to enhance the flavor much as you would use St. Germain.

 

Root, Modern Spirits LLC. Monrovia, Calif. Produce exclusively for Art in the Age. 40% alcohol

Organic ingredient, birch bark, smoked black tea, cinnamon, wintergreen, spearmint, clove, anise, orange, lemon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamon, pure cane sugar.

This specialty spirit was inspired by an 18th century folk recipe. It is the alcoholic version of eventually evolved into root beer during Prohibition.

Every time we visit The Wine Merchant we saw a few bottles of this on one of their shelves and asked if they ever tried it. No one had. So we decided to be brave and give it a taste even though it is a bit expensive. It is an acquired taste if you choose to drink it straight up.It does remind one of root beer but the high alcohol content overshadows the pleasant possibilities. To make this more like a liqueur than a spirit, we added sugar to taste making it more palatable. We suggest this is a good item to get a fast buzz like a shot of tequila. This makes  a good mix for other recipes like a ginger ale.

 

ChocoVine, Made in Holland and Imported to U.S.

According to their web site, “Among the windmills and tulip fields of Holland, fine red wine and rich dark chocolate blend with the finest Dutch cream to create a blissful indulgence.”

We like Bailey’s  Irish Cream liqueur very much, especially in coffee. We were pleasantly surprised to learn about ChocoVine during a Durango Chocolate Festival. We tried this new taste treat at the wine shop next to Nature’s Oasis Natural Foods. It is very similar to Bailey’s except they use wine rather than whiskey. The price is also about half.

You can do anything with this specialty wine that you would normally do with Bailey’s.