Baileys has launched a Drinkable Desserts contest to promote their new flavors of cream liqueurs - Baileys Mint Chocolate and Baileys Caramel - which were created to give fans of Baileys Original Irish Cream a few new flavor options. The contest calls drinkers to come up with a drink recipe that features one of the three flavors and is inspired by a real dessert, making the cocktail a drinkable dessert and a holiday indulgence.

You won't be able to see all the recipes and vote on your favorite one until after December 18th, but that still gives you plenty of time to pick up a bottle of Baileys so that you can give your favorites a try over the Christmas holiday or New Year's. The voting will last until January 21st, when the winning recipe will be selected. The grand prize winner will receive a trip to New York City for two for a private cooking class in the Gourmet Cooking Arts Center with Chef de Cuisine, Jennifer Day and the winning recipe will be featured in the April 2007 issue of Gourmet magazine.

Read on for the recipe for Baileys Caramel Apple Pie-tini (pictured).

The original Grand Marnier Liqueur, also called Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge (Red Ribbon), is 40% abv / 80 proof is sold in a unique clear brown bottle shaped like a cognac pot still. The aroma is a musky orange zest with a strong blend of spices, vanilla, and cognac. The taste is a stronger version of the smell with a focus on the slightly musky, bitter oranges well mixed with the herbs and spices, rounded out with vanilla notes, and followed through by the taste of cognac.

Like many old and fine liqueurs there is a history behind its creation. In 1827 Jean-Baptiste Lapostolle founded a distillery, his grand daughter married Louis-Alexandre Marnier in 1876 and Louis-Alexandre joined the firm, which changed its name to Marnier Lapostolle. He created what was originally called Curacao Marnier. His friend Cesar Ritz, who later started the Ritz hotels, tried the liqueur and said you should change the name to Grand Marnier, "a grand name for a grand drink." Since then six+ generations of the family have been making Grand Marnier, the most widely exported French liqueur with a bottle is sold every two seconds worldwide. Some interesting facts: Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph ordered 12 cases after trying it at the Grand Hotel in Monte Carlo, the great chef Escoffier loved Grand Marnier and used it when he created Crepes Suzette and the Grand Marnier soufflé, it was even stocked on the Titanic and a bottle was brought up from the wreck.

With the holidays upon us I want to focus on some libations that can be used to celebrate, to give as gifts, or just something to quietly enjoy as a way to de-stress in the evening. Liqueurs are great for sitting and sipping, wallowing in unique tastes and aromas, as we try to enjoy this sometimes frantic time of year.

Liqueurs and Cordials are concoctions have been around for hundreds, no, thousands of years with a long and extensive history. Originally they were created as medicines made from herbs, and to lessen the harsh taste they were sweetened with dates, figs, or honey. Then liqueurs started to evolve away from medicines and became ways to have fruit and other treats in liquid form. When cane sugar was introduced and became commercially inexpensive enough to use, it became the predominant sweetener, although many fine liqueurs still use honey and other ingredients for sweetening and character. The minimum amount of sugar or sweetener for a spirit to be called a liqueur is 20%, with some reaching 35% sugar, and most ranging somewhere in between.

Liqueurs are made all over the world, in many styles, from vastly differing ingredients, and in many levels of quality. Today there are hundreds of so-called liqueurs, sometimes called schnapps in the US. Many are inexpensive and sometimes artificially flavored stuff that are either pounded back as shots, or combined with other ingredients in a mixed drink. Some are the sickly neon gunk you find either under the bar where you can't see them being used in your drink; or hidden on the bottom shelves of liquor stores and bars, covered in dust. Real Schnapps are not sweet, have a high alcohol level, and are more like a flavored eau de vie; which is an unsweetened, fruit brandy. My focus here is on the fine quality liqueurs that can be sipped and enjoyed on their own merits.

Three tasty cocktails to sooth away a hot week.

Cool Breeze

• 2 shots Melon Liqueur
• 1 shot Gold Tequila
• 2 Shots Cranberry Juice

Shake ingredients with ice and strin into a martini glass. Strangly tastes nothing like its ingredients.

Cloud 9

• 2 shots Irish Cream Liqueur
• 1 shot Black Raspberry Liqueur
• 1 shot Amaretto
• 3 scoops vanilla ice cream

Blend all with lots of ice until slushy, pour into a class and see if you can float some whipped cream on top.

Bohemian Iced Tea

• 1 ½ shots Becherovka Liqueur
• ½ shot Citron Vodka
• ½ shot honey vodka
• ½ shot Peach Schnapps
• 3 shots chilled earl grey tea

Stir all ingredients with ice in a tea pot and serve.

In a vain attempt to keep the Friday cocktail imbibing relevant to the week's news here on Slashfood I offer -

Bird of Paradise

• 1 shot Gold Tequila
• 1 shot White crème de cacao
• ½ shot Amaretto Liqueur
• 2 shots single cream

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a martini glass.

Sword of Damocles

• 3/4 shot melon liqueur
• 3/4 shot light rum
• ¼ shot fresh lime juice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a shooter glass.

Scotch Bounty

• 1 shot Scotch whisky
• 1 shot white crème de cacao
• ½ shot coconut rum
• 2 shots orange juice
• 1/8 shot grenadine

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a martini glass.

Three cocktail recipes with nothing at all in common apart from having "Monk" in the name and they all have hazelnut liqueur as an ingredient; you gotta have a plan...

Monk's Candy Bar

• 1 ½ shots Hazelnut Liqueur
• 1 shot Butterscotch Schnapps
• ¾ shots Coffee Liqueur
• 1 shot Single Cream
• 1 shot Milk

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a martini glass and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Monk's Habit

• 1 shot light rum
• ½ shot contreau
• 1 shot hazelnut liqueur
• 3 ½ shots pineapple juice
• ¼ shot Grenadine

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a Collins glass. Garnish with a twist of orange rind.

Monk's Orchard

• 6 leaves fresh mint
• 1 shot Gin
• 1 shot apple juice
• ½ shot Calvados
• ¼ shot Sugar Syrup
• ¼ shot hazelnut liqueur
• top up with tonic water

Muddle mint leaves with gin in a shaker. Add next four ingredients and ice, shake. Strain into a glass filled with crushed ice and top up with tonic water. (Apple, hazelnuts, mint , gin? I thought it was horrid)

Perhaps Scotland's most famous liqueur, Drambuie is based on scotch whiskey, usually 15-17 year old malts that are blended with heather honey essence and, as is usual with most such liqueurs, a "secret" herbal infusion.

Playing on the rich Scottish heritage, it is said that Bonny Prince Charlie himself handed the recipe to one Captain MacKinnon of Strathaird in 1746 in gratitude for his support during the Jacobite rebellion.

Commercial production didn't start until 1906 by a descendant - Malcolm MacKinnon. The name is taken from the Gaelic phrase "an dram buidheach" that translates as "the drink that satisfied."

More recent range extensions include Drambuie Black Ribbon, which is a premium version aimed at the duty-free market, and Drambuie Cream, launched in 2000. The aroma of the latter has been described as "hospital ward/elostoplast." Cotton plasters! It isn't terribly inviting but the flavour is creamy vanilla custard with cocoa powder and dark chocolate and honey.

Spanish in origin, Navarra specifically, Zoco Pacharan is made by the maceration of sloe berries in pure alcohol.

It produces a syrupy liquid, honeyed with a sloe and cherry flavour with stewed plums, a hint of anise and ending with a chocolate and plum richness. You serve it in tumblers over ice and garnish with a slice of orange. Pacharan is the name of the product while Zoco is the brand name; and one owned by Pernod-Ricard. The packaging is very distinctive, coming in a square ribbed bottle - as can just be made out in this very poor quality illustration I managed to find in some dark, forgotton corner of the internet.

I have found a couple of online retailers who sell Zoco Pacharan. It comes in at around £15.99 per bottle.

 

I make chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons each year for the holidays but in honor of today's event I decided to perform a few boozy experiments. I am a firm believer that anything can be made better with a little booze. I think every cook who has experimented with cooking with liquor probably has a few bottles of half-finished liqueurs around the house. My recipe uses the same proportions as this one only I use almond instead of vanilla extract. In order to get the maximum flavor for my experiments, I upped the flour a bit so that I could include more liqueur. The results were mixed.

The advantage of using Grand Marnier in cooking is that the miniature bottles are readily available (at least they are in the UK). This sauce recipe was given to me by a trainee chef I know with the suggestion it is served with créme brûlée, poached fruit or a steamed pudding. I can't wait to give it a try...

Marmalade-Liqueur Sauce

• 15g marmalade orange, lime or tangerine
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange-based liqueur

In a saucepan combine the first three ingredients. Bring to the boil over a moderate heat then reduce heat and simmer gently for just a couple of minutes. Remove from heat. If serving hot, stir in the Grand Marnier and serve immediately or allow to cool a little before adding the liqueur and serving.

If you have spalshed out on a full bottle, the Grand Marnier website offers six recipes you could play with. Or you could just drink it over ice...