Liqueur cocktails

Liqueurs add sweetness, aroma and colour to cocktails, and some drinks are built entirely around them. This page lists cocktails where a liqueur is the main ingredient: orange, coffee, cream, nut, herbal and fruit liqueurs, from the Amaretto Sour and the Grasshopper to the Mudslide and the Midori Sour. You also learn how to balance their sugar and which liqueurs are worth having at home.

31 cocktails

What a liqueur is

A liqueur is a sweetened spirit flavoured with fruit, herbs, spices, nuts, coffee, cream or flowers. In the European Union a liqueur must contain at least 15 percent alcohol and a minimum amount of sugar (generally 100 grams per litre). Cream liqueurs, crèmes such as crème de cassis and herbal liqueurs all belong to this broad family.

Main groups

Balancing sweetness

Because liqueurs contain a lot of sugar, they replace syrup in many recipes. When you swap one liqueur for another, check how sweet it is and adjust the citrus. A liqueur-based sour usually needs more citrus than a spirit-based one, for example 50 ml amaretto with 25 to 30 ml lemon juice and little or no syrup.

What to keep at home

A good orange liqueur is the most useful bottle, followed by a coffee liqueur and maraschino or an herbal liqueur for classics. Store cream liqueurs in a cool place and use them within the time the label recommends after opening.