Creating an All-American Liqueur
Let’s see. Kahlua’s Mexican, ouzo’s Greek, Frangelico’s Italian, etc. But what’s American?
Nothing.
Frank Arcella, formerly of Seagram and Corazon, has decided to change that with his new concoction, Redcliff.
Redcliff has been made to suit the American palate by mimicking the taste of cola with a secret mix of 15 ingredients including cinnamon, lime, eight-year-old Virgin Islands rum, vermouth, vodka, bourbon bean vanilla, anise, and hazelnut. And so far, he’s gotten good “professional” reviews. (Sorry, I have no idea what it tastes like yet, so I can’t comment directly.) Unfortunately, the product has thus far bombed. Just take a look at this early review and that BusinessWeek article.
Anyway, who knows if it will be successful in the near future? But I’m more interested in the big picture anyway. By introducing this liqueur, Arcella points out an interesting issue: why isn’t there an American liqueur and what should it be? Will historians look back on America and say that we just drank bland, watery beer preferred tasteless, odorless vodka, or will they one day look back and say that there was an iconic liqueur that defined us?
