Escorial Grün

Escorial Grun is a German herbal liqueur developed by Robert Riemerschmid in 1835, built on numerous herb and spice distillates and bottled at a high 56%. It was a popular liqueur in the 1970s, comparable in flavour to a strong green herbal liqueur of the Chartreuse Verte type, and carries a pronounced woodruff aroma, its rich green colour coming from added colouring. The high strength and the distilled herb and spice base give it an intense, spicy character.

The nose is spicy with notes of fresh herbs and hints of aniseed, the palate spicy and sweet with cardamom, finishing long on the palate. Behind the bar that strength and concentration make it an assertive herbal modifier, adding aniseed, cardamom and a green herbal lift to a drink, and the high proof lets a small measure carry. It can be enjoyed neat or over ice, brings a herbal backbone to a cocktail, and its strength also suits it to flambeing food and drinks. Serve it in small measures given the strength, well chilled where the herbal sweetness shows.