Crème de Cassis

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Best crèmes de cassis

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Best Crème de Cassis brands

Refer to the opinion of chefs, sommeliers and bartenders of Michelin-starred gastronomic restaurants worldwide to discover the best Crème de Cassis brands in the world. A ranking and comparison of the brands and bottles of Crème de Cassis most valued by Michelin-starred gastronomic restaurants and experts in haute cuisine.

Crème de Cassis

A liqueur made from blackcurrant berries, Crème de Cassis is an alcoholic beverage and more precisely a liqueur, sweet and fruity. Crème de Cassis is purple-red in color.

Legally in Europe, Crème de Cassis is defined as a liqueur whose alcohol content must be at least 15% and contain at least 400 grams of sugar per liter. The legislation, however, gives no indication regarding the origin of the alcohol or the blackcurrants. Likewise, there is no mention of fruit content in Crème de Cassis.

Crème de Cassis is mainly produced in Dijon in northeastern France. Production of Crème de Cassis is also found in Isère and Charente. One distillery producing Crème de Cassis is located in Holland.

Technically, Crème de Cassis is obtained by macerating blackcurrant berries with refined alcohol. Sugar is then added to this mixture. It is worth knowing that a liqueur is a flavored spirit beverage that contains at least 100 grams of sugar per liter. This sugar content is what legally defines a liqueur under European legislation. The base of a liqueur is alcohol mixed with fruits, seeds, spices, plants or dairy products. In the case of Crème de Cassis, only blackcurrants are used to produce the liqueur.

When the maceration of alcohol and blackcurrants is finished, the liquid is filtered and bottled. Crème de Cassis is often contained in 70cl bottles.

Given the simplicity of its preparation, Crème de Cassis can be made at home. However, the brands of Crème de Cassis that produce the beverage industrially follow precise specifications allowing them to obtain a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).

The varieties of blackcurrant that can go into the composition of Crème de Cassis are numerous, such as Noir de Bourgogne, Royal de Naples or Blackdown.

The origin of Crème de Cassis is not clearly identified. It is said to be an evolution of the ratafias produced mainly until the 18th century (a sweet alcoholic beverage obtained by macerating various plants). Some ratafias were made from blackcurrants and more precisely from blackcurrant grains and refined alcohol. Another ancestor of Crème de Cassis, blackcurrant jelly, even had a medicinal use in the past.

It was in 1841 that Crème de Cassis as we know it today came into being. We owe the recipe of Crème de Cassis as a liqueur to Auguste-Denis Lagoute, who ran a café and wished to produce an industrial Crème de Cassis, and to Claude Jolly, who was a distiller. The two figures developed Crème de Cassis through the maceration of grains of Noir de Bourgogne blackcurrants in alcohol with sugar.

We then speak of "Cassis de Dijon" to distinguish the modern formula of Crème de Cassis. The modern formula of Crème de Cassis from Dijon was logically born in Dijon. Dijon is a city where blackcurrant cultivation is significant. Blackcurrant bushes were originally grown next to the rows of vines in the Bourgogne vineyards on the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. At the end of the 19th century, blackcurrant cultivation experienced significant growth in Bourgogne as local industrialists and politicians encouraged winegrowers to plant blackcurrant bushes near their vines. The blackcurrant harvest in Bourgogne went from 400 kg to 2,500 kg in 6 years, over more than 350 hectares.

Crème de Cassis evolved with industrialization, which made it possible to produce Crème de Cassis on a large scale and required the development of specific recipes. Blackcurrant production increased sharply in the Dijon region with new producing communes such as Nuits-Saint-Georges. Following the Phylloxera crisis, many producers abandoned vine cultivation in favor of blackcurrant cultivation. The end of the 19th century was marked by a very serious event: the Phylloxera crisis. Phylloxera, an aphid imported from the United States, destroyed a very large part of the Bourgogne vineyard within a few years and caused the disappearance of ancestral grape varieties and vineyards.

Consumption of Crème de Cassis

Crème de Cassis is highly appreciated within Michelin-starred gastronomic restaurants. Crème de Cassis is in fact one of the two ingredients used to make the kir. The kir is a traditional aperitif and cocktail of French gastronomy, and more specifically of Bourgogne. The kir is made with Crème de Cassis and Bourgogne aligoté white wine. The composition of a kir always requires more white wine than Crème de Cassis, but the dosage of ingredients can vary. The term kir comes from the surname of Félix Kir, who was mayor of the city of Dijon from 1945 to 1968 and who reportedly gave his name to the cocktail that was served at the city hall receptions from the early 1900s. The Kir is known by this name because Félix Kir greatly worked to popularize this cocktail. Anecdotally, it is said that the kir was served at receptions to replace champagne, which was deemed too expensive. The creation of white wine mixed with Crème de Cassis is attributed to one or several café owners in the early 1900s. A Bourgogne café owner in 1904 is said to have been the first to precisely measure the cocktail with one fifth Crème de Cassis and four fifths Bourgogne aligoté white wine. Since then, the dosage has evolved according to the creators. It is possible to use 2 parts cassis to 3 parts white wine for a sweeter kir.

The term "vin blanc cassis" has since extended to many variants of the "blanc-cassis" or "blanc cass" (white wine flavored with blackcurrant syrup) around the world.

Other cocktails based on Crème de Cassis exist, such as the communard or the cardinal, which are mixtures of Crème de Cassis and red wine. Crème de Cassis also makes it possible to produce the kir royal (champagne and Crème de Cassis), the fond de culotte (Crème de Cassis and suze), the fénelon (Crème de Cassis, walnut liqueur and red wine), and the El Diablo (Crème de Cassis, tequila and lime juice). In the past, Crème de Cassis was appreciated for reducing the acidity of white wine. Crème de Cassis was also added to Vermouth de Chambéry.

In terms of taste, Crème de Cassis offers a very fruity and sweet aroma. It should be noted that the higher the blackcurrant content, the better the quality of the beverage. Likewise, some varieties of blackcurrants are better than others for obtaining a flavorful Crème de Cassis. Noir de Bourgogne and Royal de Naples produce Crèmes de Cassis of superior quality compared to those produced with Blackdown.

Crème de Cassis is consumed in most countries around the world, most often in cocktail form. The El Diablo cocktail is mainly consumed in the USA. In Japan, Crème de Cassis is added to green tea, sparkling water and orange juice. In Luxembourg and Quebec, Crème de Cassis is also greatly appreciated. Crème de Cassis is most often enjoyed accompanied by other spirits to make cocktails. However, it is possible to enjoy Crème de Cassis pure to appreciate all its flavors. With a relatively light alcohol content, Crème de Cassis is perfect for a fresh aperitif cocktail. Crème de Cassis keeps well. An opened bottle of Crème de Cassis can be kept for more than a year.

Crème de Cassis is usually enjoyed during the aperitif. Also, as a sweet alcoholic beverage, Crème de Cassis can also be enjoyed during dessert to accompany sweet dishes.

Crème de Cassis also seduces by its visual appearance. Crème de Cassis can be opaque or translucent, ranging from purple to bright red.

Crème de Cassis and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication)

Crème de Cassis has two PGIs (Protected Geographical Indication). Cassis de Dijon is a PGI, awarded by INAO, reserved for four Dijon liqueur makers (Lejay-Lagoute, L'Héritier-Guyot, Briottet and Gabriel Boudier) since 2013. All these brands are part of the union of Cassis de Dijon manufacturers.

The Crème de Cassis de Bourgogne appellation is reserved for a geographical area extending from Côte d'Or to Saône-et-Loire, awarded since 2015. The Crème de Cassis PGI allows Crème de Cassis to be produced exclusively in Bourgogne, with fruits from plantations cultivated in Bourgogne territory. For its part, Cassis de Dijon allows the liqueur to be produced from alcohol from anywhere in the world. For Cassis de Dijon, only the preparation of the beverage must be done precisely in Dijon. Cassis de Dijon, which is produced industrially, represents 80% of production in France. 40% of French Crème de Cassis production is exported abroad. France produces approximately 16 million liters of Crème de Cassis each year.

There are many brands and distilleries that produce and market Crème de Cassis. Brands from Bourgogne having produced Crème de Cassis as early as the 19th century include Lejay-Lagoute, L'Héritier Guyot, Gabriel Boudier and Briottet. Other brands of Crème de Cassis also produce blackcurrant liqueur, such as Bellet, Boudier, Cartron, Cherry Rocher, Crozet, Distillerie du Plessis, Dopff & Irion, Ernest Preiss, Giffard, Gilbert Holl, Jacquiot, Le Domaine de Jacquiot, Joannet, Lecomte Blaise, Massenez, Merlet, Simon, Trenel, Vedrenne and Wenneker.

Some brands and distilleries of Crème de Cassis develop original recipes by changing ingredients. The alcohol can, for example, be cognac.

An authentic ranking and comparison to choose your Crème de Cassis

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How are crèmes de cassis selected on Bestwine • Online? Bestwine • Online lists the crèmes de cassis present on the wine lists and in the cellars of the most well-known and recognized gastronomic restaurants around the world. References of crèmes de cassis acclaimed by the greatest chefs and sommeliers of gastronomy themselves valued by critics. Only references of crèmes de cassis sold online are presented to allow you to buy them easily.

How is the reference list of the best crèmes de cassis updated? The reference list of the best crèmes de cassis is updated daily by integrating new references coming from the wine lists of gastronomic restaurants made available to us. Likewise, we update commercial and promotional offers to allow you to buy a quality Crème de Cassis online at the best price. We are committed to presenting only references of crèmes de cassis from the wine lists of awarded gastronomic restaurants.