Vintage Liqueurs?

[Snowflake]

I came across a reference to what is probably a no longer produced liqueur "Flora di Alpina" - I've done nothing more than a fast google search and come up empty (no surprise)

Anyone know of a database or reference source on vintage liqueurs?

[mousepod]

From Happy Hour Spirit and Liqueur Dictionary (http://www.happyhour.ca/dictionary.html)

Fior D'Alpe , Flora Alpina (23 to 28% alc./vol.)
Is a spice and herb flavored liqueur. It is made with alpine flowers, edelweiss, herbs, spices, sugar and alcohol. It is over sweetened so that the excess sugar readily forms crystals in the bottle. It is red, orange or yellow and is produced in Italy and other european countries. Best enjoyed straight up, on the rocks and in cocktails. Blends well with fruit juices, dairy products, club soda, vodka, dry gin, brandy and rum.

[katiesue]

My parents hosted a coctail party somewhere around 1972. They didn't really drink so I've got a cubboard of liqueur that's either unopened or has a shot or two missing. Does that count as vintage?

[Snowflake]

From Happy Hour Spirit and Liqueur Dictionary (http://www.happyhour.ca/dictionary.html)

VMPM

Who needs google when you have LoT?

[Chernabog]

Fior D'Alpe , Flora Alpina (23 to 28% alc./vol.)
Is a spice and herb flavored liqueur. It is made with alpine flowers, edelweiss, herbs, spices, sugar and alcohol.

Sounds yummy! And now I have Edelweiss from Sound of Music stuck in my head. :p

[Snowflake]

Fior D'Alpe , Flora Alpina (23 to 28% alc./vol.)
Is a spice and herb flavored liqueur. It is made with alpine flowers, edelweiss, herbs, spices, sugar and alcohol.

Sounds yummy! And now I have Edelweiss from Sound of Music stuck in my head. :p

Well, I am trying to find some, so far a wine shop in Australia has a mini bottle. (Hello Lashpair?)

Our local superior wine & spirits shop (D&M Liquors since 1933) has no clue, carries something that sounds similar from Austria.

The original distiller is still in business, but all I can find is Sambuca. Isolabella (they of great advertising posters circa 1910).

Are you wondering why? Well, I just learned it was Valentino's favorite liqueur, must try it now. :blush:

Must keep looking, I'm dying to taste it.

[Moonliner]

Are you wondering why? Well, I just learned it was Valentino's favorite liqueur, must try it now. :blush:

Must keep looking, I'm dying to taste it.

That sound fun. I'd love to do the same thing with one of my all time favorites. Does anyone know where I could find some of that blue stuff Aunt Beru makes for Luke?

[Ghoulish Delight]

That sound fun. I'd love to do the same thing with one of my all time favorites. Does anyone know where I could find some of that blue stuff Aunt Beru makes for Luke?
It's above the washing machine, labeled "Windex". Give it a try.

[Not Afraid]

It sounds like a version of a "Kräuterlikör". I'll do some poking around and see if I can find it under a different name. Chris actually might be the best reference with this. He and his family are the ones that introduced me to all of these strange Swiss and German liquors.

[Snowflake]

Thanks NA. Apparently it was/is produced in Northern Italy. Damned if I can find it, though. I've also asked another of our local purveyors of spirits to see if they can find some.

[Not Afraid]

Fiore d'Alpe or Flora Alpina: Made in northern Italy, this is packaged with a twig in the bottle, upon which excess sugar crystallizes. Traditionally, a real twig was used, but today it is likely to be made of plastic. The liqueur is fairly sweet and features herbal and mint flavors. Bottling proof is high, up to 92o.

Lots of mini bottles on ebay, but it looks like there is no US distributor. Anyone going to Milan soon? Or, perhaps Canada would have it?

[innerSpaceman]

Oh, I'd volunteer to go to Milan to pick some up. ;)

[€uroMeinke]

I think this was known as Enzian in my household - but I don't recall the sugar crust. I do recall it was rare to come across prompting my mom to buy out supplies whenever they were found at Liquor Barn the Bevmo of the day.
http://www.baumann-tirol.at/site/fileadmin/baumann_bilder/Fotos_Downloads/Gebirgs_Enzian_Schnaps.jpg

[BarTopDancer]

Fiore d'Alpe or Flora Alpina: Made in northern Italy, this is packaged with a twig in the bottle, upon which excess sugar crystallizes. Traditionally, a real twig was used, but today it is likely to be made of plastic. The liqueur is fairly sweet and features herbal and mint flavors. Bottling proof is high, up to 92o.

Lots of mini bottles on ebay, but it looks like there is no US distributor. Anyone going to Milan soon? Or, perhaps Canada would have it?

My mom is in Canada for the next month. So if you can tell me exactly to tell her what to look for I can probably get a bottle.

[Snowflake]

My mom is in Canada for the next month. So if you can tell me exactly to tell her what to look for I can probably get a bottle.

BtD

That would be awesome!

So far I've not been able to come up with a maker, if she could ask if they carry fior d'alpe aka flora alpina.

If successful, I be sending $$ via paypal! :snap:

[BarTopDancer]

I will ask her to make a trip to the liquor commission and look for it. If they don't have it in the town she is at I'll have her look in Halifax on her way home.

[Snowflake]

Drat! My local purveyor of spirits sent me this:

Hi Donna,

Looks like this product isn’t exported—I got no US hits on the various product searches I ran. Sorry!


Must up the ante, anyone know anyone going to Italy???

[Andrew]

I strongly recommend this article (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/772lyldx.asp?pg=1):
The cocktail is a lovely simple thing: a mixture of spirits and flavorings that whets the appetite, pleases the eye, and stimulates the mind. It is one of our conspicuous contributions to cultured living, up there with the Great American Songbook and the tuxedo. Yet, like almost everything else to do with culture in this country, the cocktail fell on hard times in the 1960s. A generation preferred other intoxicants and, when they drank, took their alcohol in sickly sweet concoctions that defied any idea of sophistication. As time passed, the places one could order a decent cocktail grew farther in between. By the 1990s, few establishments outside of the fustiest hotels could produce a passable Martini or Manhattan. Fewer still a Negroni, a Jack Rose, or a Sazerac.

Some of it is the ignorance of the folks behind the bar, who not only have a limited mastery of the ratios that make such cocktails refreshing but also fail to measure--every drink should be meted out accurately with jiggers and spoons. It is a profession after all dominated by disabused actors and women comfortable in brief attire. But it is just as much the lack of audience. For a Negroni, your sweet vermouth and your Campari must be fresh, used and replaced regularly. For a Jack Rose, you not only need bottled-in-bond applejack or high-grade Calvados, but also real grenadine, which at this point you must make yourself as the product sold domestically has no pomegranates in it. And a Sazerac?

To make the signature drink of New Orleans, you need not only good rye and an absinthe substitute, but a bottle of Antoine Amedie Peychaud's anise-dominated bitters. You need, in other words, fresh ingredients, a fair amount of knowledge, and practiced skills.

H/T @Maddow

[bewitched]

Ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/FIOR-DALPE-SEALED-MINI-LIQUOR-BOTTLE-LOT-MILAN-ITALY_W0QQitemZ260365906412QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_D efaultDomain_0?hash=item3c9f0471ec&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116)

[Snowflake]

Ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/FIOR-DALPE-SEALED-MINI-LIQUOR-BOTTLE-LOT-MILAN-ITALY_W0QQitemZ260365906412QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_D efaultDomain_0?hash=item3c9f0471ec&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116)

Thanks Whitney!

I saw these, but am I really going to pop one of these open and drink it? Besides, $20+ for a mini bottle?

I'm convinced I can find it, just going to take some patience! :)

[lashbear]

I strongly recommend this article (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/772lyldx.asp?pg=1):


H/T @Maddow
Thank you for that article, Andrew !!

I remember the Two Fat Ladies adhering strictly to the:
One of Sour
Two of Sweet
Three of Strong and
Four of weak

formula when concocting their Rum Punch for Christmas.

You've also inspired me to run out and buy the ingredients to make:
Whiskey sour
Rusty Nail
Sidecar

All of which Stoat and I love.

Once I've finished making dinner I will allow us to have an indulgence.

Oh, and to make sure I'm still on topic, I didn't see any Fiore D'Alpe or similar when up at our Dan Murphys (the booze chain with the largest choice in Australia)

[Snowflake]

Well, so far I've come up empty handed. As NA pointed out, and several liquor stores have confirmed, this appears not to be exported to America any longer. That said, a friend of a friend of mine does, in fact, have a bottle of the stuff (they acquired it in the Virgin Islands) and declare it to be delightful.

I've sent out feelers to a couple of people I know who do travel to Italy with some regularity. Not losing hope, yet.

Who knows, perhaps BtD comes through in a pinch! ;)

[BarTopDancer]

Who knows, perhaps BtD comes through in a pinch! ;)

My mom said she'd stop by the Liquor Commission and see if they have it and how much it is. She is there until the end of August so I'm not sure exactly when she'll go, but she'll go.

[BarTopDancer]

Is this it?

Fior D'Alpe , Flora Alpina (23 to 28% alc./vol.)
Is a spice and herb flavored liqueur. It is made with alpine flowers, edelweiss, herbs, spices, sugar and alcohol. It is over sweetened so that the excess sugar readily forms crystals in the bottle. It is red, orange or yellow and is produced in Italy and other european countries. Best enjoyed straight up, on the rocks and in cocktails. Blends well with fruit juices, dairy products, club soda, vodka, dry gin, brandy and rum.

[Snowflake]

Is this it?

Yes, as far as I know, find some?

[BarTopDancer]

She sent me a link or verification and will check if the Liquor Commission carries it and how much it is. She is in a very small town; if they don't have it she will have my cousin check or she'll check the Liquor Commission in Halifax before she heads home.

[Snowflake]

BtD you and your Mom as awesomeness personified! Thank you for all your efforts!

[BarTopDancer]

Bad news...

The Liquor Commission in Yarmouth (the town my mom is in) doesn't carry it. She called the one in Halifax and left a message but they haven't called her back. She is going to ask my cousin to look when he goes back to Halifax tomorrow.

I'll ask her if she has time to check the Duty Free store in the Halifax airport too.

[BarTopDancer]

More bad news...

They don't carry it in Halifax and the Liquor Commission doesn't think they carry it anywhere in Canada.

Sorry!!! :(

[Snowflake]

More bad news...

They don't carry it in Halifax and the Liquor Commission doesn't think they carry it anywhere in Canada.

Sorry!!! :(

Hey! You tried! I appreciate all the help! I suspect the only option is Italy, if it is still made there. Hmmm, cheap fares?......;)

Actually, I've got 2 friends going to Italy soon and they are going to continue the search.

[mousepod]

FIOR D'ALPE SEALED MINI LIQUOR BOTTLE LOT MILAN ITALY (http://cgi.ebay.com/FIOR-DALPE-SEALED-MINI-LIQUOR-BOTTLE-LOT-MILAN-ITALY_W0QQitemZ260365906412QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_D efaultDomain_0?hash=item3c9f0471ec&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116#ht_500wt_918)

"Not for consumption." Sure.

[Snowflake]

FIOR D'ALPE SEALED MINI LIQUOR BOTTLE LOT MILAN ITALY (http://cgi.ebay.com/FIOR-DALPE-SEALED-MINI-LIQUOR-BOTTLE-LOT-MILAN-ITALY_W0QQitemZ260365906412QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_D efaultDomain_0?hash=item3c9f0471ec&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116#ht_500wt_918)

"Not for consumption." Sure.

Hmmm, this is tempting! Thanks MP!

Okay, I have some exciting news. One of my office mates mentioned this to a friend of a friend, who replied, why we have a bottle! We'll donate it to the cause and the great experiment. Who are we to stand in the way of a tried and true Valentino fan?

It is an opened bottle, but they have declared it delicious and are bringing it to the office next week sometime. :D

[BarTopDancer]

Awesome news!!!!!

[Kevy Baby]

So this thread isn't about aging lesbians?

[JWBear]

So this thread isn't about aging lesbians?

Only in Kevy World.

[lashbear]

Hmmm, this is tempting! Thanks MP!

Okay, I have some exciting news. One of my office mates mentioned this to a friend of a friend, who replied, why we have a bottle! We'll donate it to the cause and the great experiment. Who are we to stand in the way of a tried and true Valentino fan?

It is an opened bottle, but they have declared it delicious and are bringing it to the office next week sometime. :D
Great News !!!!!

Now you need to have a swanking for the tasting.....

[Snowflake]

Great News !!!!!

Now you need to have a swanking for the tasting.....

So? When is your flight? ;)

[lashbear]

12th October.... but it's to Melbourne. :p

[Snowflake]

Okay, I have in hand, a large (but not close to being full) bottle of Fior D'Alpe, complete with clear plastic tree inside. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic and bad office lighting.

1176

I tested the waters by dipping my finger in it to see if it was lethal (as in poisonous), apparently not as I'm not dead yet.

Anise is the flavor that comes through, not as sweet as described. The alcohol is still quite, quite potent.

My hairstylist is in Italy now, also searching.....I have hopes for a full and fresh bottle.

The crazy things those crazy Valentino fans will do, they're all nuts. :blush:

[lashbear]

I love the retro-looking label. It almost looks like you'd find it in the cellar at Hearst Castle.