Crème de menthe
Crème de menthe is a sweet, mint-flavored alcoholic beverage. Its flavor is primarily derived from corsican mint. It is available commercially in a colorless (called "white") and a green version (which obtains its color from the mint leaves or from the addition of coloring, if extract and not the leaves are used to make the liqueur). Both varieties have similar flavors and are interchangeable in recipes, except where the color is important.
Crème de menthe is used as an ingredient in several cocktails, such as the Grasshopper and the Stinger, and is also served as an after-dinner drink and can be used in food recipes as a flavoring (see Mint chocolate).
One recipe, made popular by Sandra Lee, for making crème de menthe includes sugar, water, grain alcohol, pure peppermint extract, and the optional green food coloring.[1] A traditional recipe involves steeping dried peppermint leaves in grain alcohol for several weeks (creating a naturally green color), followed by filtration and the addition of sugar. [2]
Another simple recipe is to mix the crème de menthe with ice cream which creates a mint like shake. Toppings are also sometimes used including nuts, or pecans.
Literature
- It was the favorite drink of fictional detective Hercule Poirot. [citation needed]
- It gives its name to the sixth chapter of D.H. Lawrence's Women in love and is therein mentioned as Rupert Birkin's drink: "Birkin was drinking something green [...]"
- In Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle a bartender invents a cocktail on the day of the bombing of Hiroshima called the End of The World Delight. It is Crème de menthe poured into a hollow pineapple with whipped cream and a cherry on top.
Television
- In an episode of the television sitcom Grounded For Life Sean and Eddie receive an exceptionally large shipment of Creme De Menthe instead of the alcohol they ordered for their bar, and are unable to successfully sell it.
- In an episode of Black Books Bernard orders Manny a Crème de Menthe instead of the bitter that he ordered.