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Crème de menthe (pronounced[kʁɛmdəmɑ̃t],French for "mint cream") is a sweet,mint-flavored alcoholic beverage. It is available commercially in a colorless version (called "white") and a green version (colored by the mint leaves or by added coloring if made from extract instead of leaves).[1] Both varieties have similar flavor and are interchangeable in recipes, except where color is important. It is usually made withCorsican mint orpeppermint, which is steeped in grain alcohol for several weeks before it is filtered and sweetened to create the final product. It typically has 25% alcohol by volume.
Crème de menthe is an ingredient in several cocktails, such as theGrasshopper and theStinger. It is also served as adigestif and used in cooking as a flavoring (seemint chocolate). It is also a primary component of the popular South African shooter known as theSpringbokkie.
Russian composer and conductorSergei Rachmaninoff, although otherwise ateetotaler, found that a glass of crème de menthe steadied his nerves before playing the technically demanding piano score in the twenty-fourth variation of hisRhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. He nicknamed the twenty-fourth the "Crème de Menthe Variation".[2]
Menta is a sweet mintliqueur prepared from natural ingredients likespearmint oil. It is a refreshing drink popular inBulgaria in the summertime. It is a component of some cocktails as the traditional "Cloud" (in Bulgarian - Облак) where it is combined withMastika. It is a sweet mint liqueur (typical 15-25% ABV) derived from a distillate of mint leaves & is available to buy as bottles of either green or white (clear) liquids.
