Royal Mint Chocolate Liqueur

Mint, which is to be found in its wild state in many parts of the world, has been grown domestically since ancient Egyptian times. The Japanese have known ‘Menthol” for at least two thousand years. It is one of the most respected medicinal plants – as a tonic, stimulant and anti-spasmodic. It also has strong aromatic properties and last but not least, freshens the mouth. The digestive properties of some types of mint have also long been known and the most widely used species in liqueurs is Labiatae which belongs to the garden mint family.

This is a new liqueur which reproduces the exquisite and delicate flavour of the after-dinner mint. E. Warner Allen wrote in “Liqueurs and the Wine Lover"

“To my amazement and delight when I tried it with my coffee my tongue and palate registered nothing but approval. The coarseness of chocolate had been extracted and the delicate flavour of the cacao berry, which I had not tasted for so many years that I had forgotten it, had been retained. This pleasant, smooth liqueur set me wondering how two tastes to which I thought I was allergiccould have been so miraculously adapted to please my palate and came to the conclusion that it was a case of art returning to nature.”

Notes on the Creation of a Liqueur by Peter Hallgarten.size>
Royal Mint-Chocolate Liqueur (28.5% alc./vol.) took me about two years to develop. During the course of compounding, I found that making liqueurs is an art rather than a science, and that the invention of a new liqueur could best be paralleled with a composer working on an orchestral composition. The composer knows the sound he is hearing in his mind, and he is then able to pull it apart, givingeach member of the orchestra a certain part to play. Similarly, with a liqueur, the final result is visualized; this is theoretically taken apart and then actually put together component by com-ponent to give the end-product. The compounding of a liqueur, of course, presents particular difficulties as the 'players' (specialextracts, distillates, etc.) very often inter-act, giving very different results, and what is not generally realized is that the sequence ofevents is of extreme importance. As so often happens, it was pure chance that led to the final result in this case; a dozen independent unsuccessful trials had been mixed at the end of an evening and set aside for kitchen use in preparation of sweets and sorbets. When after a week, by chance, the mixture was tasted, the research was at an end. The answer had been found. Extensive calculations were then necessary to break down the numerous components into exact quantities, and shortly after, with minor adjustments, 'Royal Mint-Chocolate' Liqueur was born. It is now produced and bottled in France. Since 1966 the series has been increased into a 'Royal family' of liqueurs: Orange-Chocolate, Ginger-Chocolate, Cherry-Chocolate, Banana Chocolate, Raspberry-Chocolate, and the Royal jubilee liqueur.

- Peter Hallgarten, creator of Royal Mint Chocolate Liqueur.

Please note: It is our understanding that this product has been discontinued and is no longer produced.