I’ve heard a few people describe our superb tasting HARLEM® as being similar to a “digestif”. What is a digestif you ask? I had the same question so I decided to do a bit of research to find out.
“Digestif” is a French word that literally means “digestive”. For those of you that don’t know French, the proper pronunciation is [dee-zheh-STEEF]. Digestifs can be either liqueurs or spirits and they are usually consumed straight or neat. As can be easily inferred, digestifs are traditionally served at the end of a meal as an after dinner drink or a night cap to aid in digestion.
It is difficult to talk about digestifs without mentioning aperitifs. “Aperitif” pronounced [ah-pehr-uh-TEEF] is also a French word that is derived from the Latin verb aperire, which means “to open.” Digestifs are typically alcoholic drinks that are brown in color while aperitifs are lower proof alcoholic drinks that are clear to light yellow in color. Generally both are served in small portions. A good description I read from Wisegeek.com explains that digestifs and aperitifs are meant to bookend a meal.
Eric Asimov from the New York Times explains that digestivos (as they say in Italian) were historically intended as palliatives, meant to counter all sorts of ailments and physical imbalances. According to MuseumStuff.com, aperitifs and later digestifs were first “…introduced in 1864, when a French chemist, Joseph Dubonnet, created a wine-based drink as a means of delivering malaria-fighting quinine. The medicine is a bitter brew, so he developed a formula of herbs and spices to mask quinine’s sharp flavor.”
Outside the United States, digestifs are consumed in most European countries. Wikipedia offers a good list of common digestifs that include herbal liqueurs, cognacs, bitters, and brandies as well as wines such as madeiras, ports, and sherries.
Rebekah Mori, columnist for Miami Cocktails Examiner, describes HARLEM as an herbal digestivo. You can read her review at Examiner.com. Here are links to some other interesting articles I found on digestifs:
Lifestyle correspondent writer, Gregory Cartier, for AskMen.com suggests that aperitifs and digestifs have “…entered into the realm of cool again”. I recently heard from our Vegas Sales Manager that drinking digestifs is really hot right now, especially among bartenders. Next time you’re feeling like you’ve over-eaten; why not try a shot of HARLEM as a digestif to soothe your stomach.
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