A liqueur, or cordial, is a sweetened distilled spirit. Flavored with a variety of fruits, nuts, herbs, and spices, as well as things like chocolate and coffee, liqueurs contribute more flavor than alcohol to cocktails and mixed drinks.

The difference between cordials and liqueurs You may be thinking that a liqueur is just a sweetened liquor. If so, you’re ri-, well, you’re half right. Liqueurs at their core, are basically liquors that have been flavored and sweetened. If you live in the UK, a cordial can refer to a sweet, non-alcoholic liquid.

Cordials are a mix of fruit, sugar, water and tartaric or citric acid. The latter ingredients are used as a preservative, they’re optional and can be bought from a chemist or health food shop.

The word “cordial,” as it’s used in the United States, is a little ambiguous, encompassing both liqueurs and nonalcoholic syrups. “Syrup is the broad-based category, and cordials are a segment of it; not all syrups are cordials, but all cordials are syrups,” says Christa Cotton of El Guapo Bitters in New Orleans.

Cordials are must-have items for your bar because they’re essential for mixing with other drinks to make cocktails or for layering to make popular shooters….Basic Cordials to Stock in Your Bar.

Grenadine is a fruit syrup quintessential to French childhood. That’s it in a nutshell! Grenadine is a syrup used to make drinks (cordial or squash for children, certain cocktails for adults).

Liqueur and Cordial Flavors Liqueurs and cordials are not only sweet, they carry pronounced flavors. An alcohol — such as brandy or gin — is mixed with natural flavors, often from fruits or plants. Examples include creme de menthe, raspberry cordial and sambuca.

The cordial and sherry glasses are ideal for liqueurs and aperitifs. One major difference between the cordial and the sherry is that the cordial typically has a narrow rim in comparison to the sherry glass.

Terminology. “Cordial”, “diluting juice”, and “squash” are similar products, although the products known as cordials tend to be thicker and stronger, requiring less syrup and more water to be blended. In British English, “cordial” refers to a sweet fruit-flavoured drink (as different from a syrup).

Liqueurs & Cordials Contrary to liquors, liqueurs contain much more sugar and are often used as flavoring agent in a cocktail. Examples of liqueurs are Curaçao Liqueurs, Disaronno, Bailey’s, Amaretto, etc. Another word that is often used for liqueur is cordials.

Cordial is often used to describe sweeter distilled spirits that are very dessert-like. You might see ‘cordial’ on labels for chocolate or cream spirits. Cordial can be used to describe a nonalcoholic, syrupy drink such as a lime cordial or elderflower cordial. The word is used in this sense more often in the United Kingdom.

cordial – strong highly flavored sweet liquor usually drunk after a meal. liqueur. alcohol, alcoholic beverage, alcoholic drink, inebriant, intoxicant – a liquor or brew containing alcohol as the active agent; “alcohol (or drink) ruined him”.

Cordial glasses are used for flavored sweet liqueurs, also known as cordials. These alcoholic beverages may be flavored like coffee, chocolate, fruit or even blends of herbs; the base liquid is sometimes whisky, rum or cognac. The terms liqueur and cordial are used interchangeably.

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