Cuarenta y tres

[TommyBB]

Cuarenta y tres (43) licor.
This is a vanilla (among other) flavored liqueur from Spain.
Has anyone else tried this? I'm not really an imbiber as my friends know, but we went to a tapas restaurant tonight. At the end of the meal Kelly let slip to the waitress that it was my birthday, so she brought me a shot of this gratis

I shared it around the table, but, damn, this stuff is really good. I may have to spring for a bottle of this.

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-3252.aspx

Another link

Cuarenta y Tres

Cuarenta is a sweet liqueur made in the Cartagena of eastern Spain, and based on a recipe that supposedly dates from classical times, when the Phoenicians founded Carthage, in North Africa. Its name is Spanish for "forty-three". It has the alternative name in English speaking markets of Licor 43, and is so named because that is the number of herbs and spices it contains. Its strength is 31% ABV.



Cuarenta is concocted from a brandy base, with infusions of the various aromatizers, but has a noticeably predominant flavor of vanilla, which rather torpedoes the Carthaginian theory since vanilla was only discovered in the 16th century by Spanish explorers in Mexico. Not much seen outside its region of production, it is nonetheless held in high regard locally.

[BigO]

Have to look for this. The only other vanilla liqueur I was aware of is Vanille Royale out of the Caribbean.

[jazznut]

Spain's bestselling export.

And judging from the accolades amongst the customer reviews on the TWE page, well worth searching out.

Thanks for the heads-up, Tommy.

[TommyBB]

LOL, thank my watiress, Doug!
THEN she says "it's hard to find..." suggested Dorignac's, about the only grocery that would have it here, locally.

[macsauce13]

Originally Posted by TommyBB

LOL, thank my watiress, Doug!
THEN she says "it's hard to find..." suggested Dorignac's, about the only grocery that would have it here, locally.

My only word of warning is that after a spicy meal, you will likely pull out a LOT more vanilla than usual. I did this with a flavored whisky once. Ate some salsa then took a drink of Revel Stoke spiced whisky. It was so good I bought a bottle...Hated every single sip once I got the damn thing home.

[TommyBB]

Thanks for the warning, Mackenzie. This meal was very flavorful, but not a great deal of spice or heat. Lots of herbs and garlic, cheese, serrano ham, and chorizo (sliced thin, like salami.)

I found the alcohol strong, but then, I would. Once I get some for home, I'm going to let it sit a few moments like I do with cream sherry.