Crème de Cassis is a French liqueur made with blackcurrants. It is served as an after-dinner liqueur and it is also an ingredient in cocktails, such as Kir Royale.
What Crème de Cassis tastes like
The main ingredient or flavor of Crème de Cassis is blackcurrant. It is made from crushed blackcurrants soaked in alcohol, with added sugar.
Crème de Cassis substitutes
If you don’t have Crème de Cassis, you can substitute Crème de Cassis in cocktails with other berry and fruit liqueurs, syrups and flavored brandy:
Chambord
Chambord is a French liqueur made from red and black raspberries, blackcurrants, Madagascar vanilla, citrus peel, honey, cognac and spices. The juice is extracted from the berries and mixed with French spirits to infuse. Then, there is a second berry infusion. After six weeks and a double infusion, the berries are delicately pressed to capture all of the natural juices. In the final stage, the infused base is blended with the other flavors (Madagascar vanilla, citrus peel, honey, cognac and spices).
Chambord makes an excellent substitute for Crème de Cassis. It has a very similar flavor profile – dark berries with a spirit base. It can be used as an alternative in most cases.
Crème de Framboise / rasberry liqueur
Crème de Framboise is a French raspberry liqueur. Rasberry liqueur is made by soaking macerated rasberries in alcohol to extract the flavors. Sugar is added later. There are many brands to choose from, such as Monin, L’Heritier Guyot, and Briottet.
Crème de Framboise is not a perfect substitute as it is rasberry flavored rather than blackcurrant; however, if you like rasberries or if rasberries are complementary to your recipe, it can make an excellent alternative to Crème de Cassis.
Kirsch
Kirsch is a colorless brandy made from morello cherries.
Kirsch is not sweet, so it is not an exact substitute for Crème de Cassis. Nevertheless, use as a substitute where a cherry flavor vs blackcurrant is complimentary to a recipe. Add some simple sugar syrup to add the missing sweet element.
Non-alcoholic substitute for Crème de Cassis
Any blackcurrant syrup or cordial can be used as a non-alcoholic substitute for Crème de Cassis. The sweet blackcurrant flavor works well as an alternative to Crème de Cassis.
Crème de Cassis vs Chambord
Chambord is a French liqueur made from red and black raspberries, blackcurrants, Madagascar vanilla, Moroccan citrus peel, honey and cognac. So, Chambord is not exactly the same as Crème de Cassis (a blackcurrant liqueur), but it is a good substitute for Crème de Cassis in cocktails.
Grenadine vs Crème de Cassis
Crème de Cassis is not the same as Grenadine. Grenadine is a non-alcoholic syrup that is usually made from pomegranate.
