Blackcurrant liqueur is a sweet-tart liqueur with the flavor of blackcurrants. Blackcurrant liqueur is also known as [ingredient=cassis cassis], or creme de cassis. While some blackcurrant liqueurs are made with the addition of flavoring and sugar to a neutral spirit, the better and more expensive versions are a maceration of blackcurrants in alcohol, which extracts more of the woodsy, briary aspect from the fruit. Blackcurrant liqueur is usually between 30 and 40 proof.
Blackcurrant liqueur is typically a vibrant reddish-purple color, thick, and opaque. It should be intensely sweet and sour, with the woodsy, stemmy, almost tannic flavor of blackcurrants firmly in the background. It should not taste like a gummy candy.
Good producers of blackcurrant liqueur are Domaine Sathenay (from Burgundy), Briottet, L'Heretieres de Guyot, and G.E. Massenez. Some of the more popular brands are Bols, deKuyper, and Mathilde.