Marie Brizard Archives - First Pour Cocktails

Original Krupnik Honey Liqueur

Posted on April 1, 2022March 29, 2022 by Nick

It’s almost Dyngus Day again, and rather than make our own Krupnik again, we opted to try Original Krupnik Honey Liqueur. Produced by Marie Brizard in Poland, there’s reason to suspect that this should be good quality liqueur for a reasonable price. A honey and herb liqueur infusion, this polish liqueur will give you one more option to celebrate the day. You can also use it in our original Krupnik Fizz and The Pussy Willow.

Original Krupnik Honey Liqueur

Sight: Caramel / Straw. Caramel coloring is added for consistency.

Smell: The smell of honey is dominant and there are touches of herbs and a little baking spice. There’s a touch of fermented honey funk to it.

Sip: The start is sweet, and immediately veers into mead and honey notes. A hint of herbal and spice notes come out as well. There is a bit of raw alcohol flavor as well – although the exact grain is hard to pinpoint (possibly rye?)

Savor: The ending is more honey with a little spice.

Original Krupnik Honey Liqueur is sweet and predominately honey flavored. There’s a balance of sweetness here so it’s not quite cloying, but it is very sweet. As a sipper, it’s easy going if simple. There’s not a lot to dislike, unless you’re not a fan of honey.

In Cocktails

In a Krupnik Fizz, the sweetness tones down dramatically, and the wine notes are given reign. The herbal notes and spices slide into the background, and are touch to pick out. While it works well as a sweetener, it provides mostly a honeyed note. The net results is a nice drink, but we recommend making your own Krupnik if you want something spectacular.

In Review – Original Krupnik Honey Liqueur

At only $14, Original Krupnik Honey Liqueuer is an affordable shortcut to making your own. While it isn’t the most amazing liqueur in the world, it’s well made and affordable. Availability can be hit and miss, and it isn’t particularly called for in most cocktails. That said, if you want to add one more Polish item to your Dyngus Day, then grab a bottle of Original Krupnik Honey Liqueur for the novelty of it.

Sobieski Vodka

Posted on April 1, 2021March 31, 2021 by Nick

One of the first things I did in college, after I turned 21, was run an insanely nerdy Design of Experiment with my engineering friends tasting vodka. We went out and purchased a whole host, ranging from Svedka to Grey Goose to Zyr, and several others. After imbibing more than we should, we tallied up the numbers and analyzed our findings. The surprise, a Polish vodka called Sobieski Vodka was one of our favorite values in the group.

Sobieski Vodka

Made from 100% Rye, Sobieski is named for a Polish king, and is connected to Marie Brizard.

Sight: Clear

Smell: A bit of heat and spice leads off the nose. Touches of ethanol and like vanillin work around the edges. The nose is remarkably clean and subtle, with just the slightest hint of wet rock.

Sip: Sobieski starts of clean and smooth with hints of the spicy character of rye and touches vanillin. The flavor gradually becomes more ethanol with a touch of sweetness before reducing to a clean, if slightly hot alcohol flavor.

Savor: The ending is again, slightly boozy with just a little bitter-spicy rye component.

Sobieski is undoubtedly a rye vodka, and has the hallmark flits of spiciness around the edges. The thing about Sobieski is it’s fairly mild in it’s flavor, not being so obtrusive that you’d notice it. That is, unless you’re trying to notice it. When observed up close, there is a touch of heat and lacks of flavor that leaves it less than pleasant to enjoy on it’s own. For the price, this makes it one of our favorite choices to use for infusions and cocktails.

In Cocktails

Sobieski works delightfully in most cocktails, hiding in plain sight. It does especially well hiding in cocktails with some degree of acidity, using the light spice and clean character to blend in. The exception to this amongst cleaner flavor profiles, such as Martinis and Vespers, where it does well, but not as well as softer wheat offerings.

It also works particularly well in infusions, where I’ve used it to make fruit flavored vodkas and recently to make our Krupnik for Dyngus day.

Sobieski Vodka Overall

At $17 for a handle (1.75L) and an awful bluetooth speaker, Sobieski Vodka remains as stellar value with or without the trinkets. What it does well is provide a neutral, inoffensive, relatively smooth base to craft from. While it’s no over ice sipper, there’s nothing here to detract from other ingredients. Based on this, Sobieski is a top candidate to make our Recommended Bottles for Beginning a Home Bar list, and deserves consideration on your shelf.

Marie Brizard Cassis de Dijon

Posted on January 19, 2021January 19, 2021 by Nick

There are a lot of liqueurs that have very few uses. For better or worse, Creme de Cassis is amongst these bottles. Being primarily used in a Kir Royale, you might question if you should spend more for a better bottle of something with so few uses. If you happen to like the Kir Royale, than one sip Marie Brizard Cassis de Dijon will answer your question instantly.

Marie Brizard Cassis de Dijon

Claimed to be made from the finest blackcurrant, Marie Brizard will set you back somewhere around $20 for a 750ml.

Sight: An inky, purplish black at it’s core. The edges give way like an old wine through shades of garnet and brick with a watery orange edge.

Smell: The smell of blackcurrents and ripe berries is abundant with hints of earthiness, almost like grape stems or stony soil.

Sip: The palate starts sweet and quickly works into a more lively territory as notes of bright, fresh berries well up. There’s a subtle bitterness like berry skin, that gives way to a mix of both fresh and jammed blackcurrants. That subtle bitterness gives it bit of extra snap texturally, helping with a syrup like consistency.

Savor: The ending a long affair of blackcurrants brambling slowly away leaving a saccharine sweetness and touch of stem.

Marie Brizard Cassis de Dijon highlights blackcurrants naturally, giving them their space to show off. The slightly jammy notes that run throughout make for a lovely bookend to the fresh fruit like bite the liqueur displays. It is definitively more complex and well rounded than a bottom shelf bottle. A comparison of Marie Brizard to DeKuyper Creme de Cassis left no doubt as to the reason for the price difference, with the later being artificially powdery in it’s sweetness and muddled with flavors approaching chocolate and concord grapes.

In Cocktails

To say Creme de Cassis is limited is a bit of an understatement. There is exactly one classic cocktail I’m aware of that class for Creme de Cassis, the Kir Royale. A built drink, the Kir Royale is merely a half ounce of Creme de Cassis, and around 5 oz of champagne. In essence, you’re building a highball with champagne. For this application, Marie Brizard Creme de Cassis has enough complexity and acidity to complement the wine, and elevate the experience, while adding its fruity twist.

Marie Brizard Cassis de Dijon Overall

Marie Brizard is a gorgeous example of blackcurrant liqueur. The complexity and natural character make this a shoe in for lovers of Kir Royale. Others might think twices if they really need a bottle of blackcurrent liqueur on their bar. However, if you do, then Marie Brizard Cassis de Dijon is our recommended bottle.