Amarula liqueur: what it is, how to drink, composition + 4 cocktail recipes

1) Types of Amarula liqueur
2) The legend of the Amarula drink
3) Interesting facts about the drink
4) Composition and method of preparation of Amarula
5) How and with what to drink Amarula + cocktail recipes

Amarula - a world-famous sweet African creamy liqueur. The drink is made on the basis of marula fruit juice. These exotic yellow oval fruits look like apricots and taste a bit like plums, oranges and nuts at the same time, but with milky hints. Their white, fleshy flesh contains high amounts of vitamin C, sugar and protein.

The taste of the liqueur is a bit similar to that of Baileys, with caramel and milk notes that will appeal to lovers of drinks rich in sweetness.

Types of Amarula liqueur

In the circles of liqueur connoisseurs, bartenders and sommeliers know about 2 versions of the drink:

Amarula Gold - a 30% strong liqueur, aromatic with tremulously fruity, intriguingly spicy notes and an extremely smooth texture, it was created for the 25th birthday of the company so that fans of natural sweet spirits could enjoy the pure taste of Amarula Gold, chilled with ice or complemented by other suitable components.

Amarula Marula Fruit Cream - A classic creamy liqueur with a strength of 17%, this digestif is more recognizable and well known.

Amarula Marula Fruit Cream

The legend of the Amarula drink

In the hot savannas with unusual and peculiar grasses, shrubs and mysterious trees, where rhinos, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, lions, elephants feel like masters of nature, the wonderful marula tree grows... It is the center of a specific local ecosystem in South Africa, the only way for some species and tribes to survive for several millennia.

All parts of the tree are useful for satisfying one or another need: paint is made from the bark, savannah inhabitants hide from the scorching sun in the shade of the crown, oil is pressed from fruit seeds, the pulp is eaten with pleasure by both people and animals, the juice quenches thirst, and Africans make a tea-like drink from the dried fruit peel.

Many diseases were cured by healers with the help of raw materials from the marula, and the sex of the unborn child was predicted after drinking decoctions from the bark. And marula fruits are considered a source of virility.

When the air was filled with the aroma of ripe fruit, elephants came to the marula trees, which emit a heady smell, to share with humans the joy of tasting juicy ripe fruits and strengthen their strength during the mating season. Soon, many tribes believed in the sacredness of the tree and began to hold a wedding ceremony under its dense crown.

In the 80s of the last century, Southern Liqueur Co. experimentally created a clear drink based on marula juice. The fruits for the production of liqueur are picked by hand, no green or damaged fruit is put into the basket, the highest quality and customer care distinguish the brand from other drinks. Initially, the alcohol was completely different from the current one. After bringing the aging to the desired state, mixing the distillate from the raw materials with fresh juice and cream, the creators achieved the result: the drink acquired a unique and rich thick sweet taste.

Interesting facts about the drink

This digestif ranks 2nd in the world among cream liqueurs in terms of sales.
Amarula has been produced since September 1989 in Kenya at the Southern Liqueur Co.
The liquor is exported to 100 countries.
The spirit from the hot continent is especially popular in Canada, Brazil, Germany, and Angola.
Internationally, Amarula has won many awards in various contests and competitions.
More than 60,000 Africans collect the fruit for the drink by hand, thus earning a living.
From one Marula tree, 500-2000 kg of fruit can be harvested per year.
Marula tree is not subject to selection, it chooses the place of growth. If the soil is not suitable for marula, it will be able to take root, but will not bear fruit.
On August 1, 2004, the manufacturer launched the AERP scientific program in the field of elephant research and conservation. The elephant is the symbol of the brand on the labels of Amarula branded bottles. Animals adore sweet fruits, which serve as the basis for making cream liqueur.

Composition and method of preparation of Amarula

The liquor is made without added sugar. The taste of digestif is based on the natural sweetness of the fruit.

List of ingredients

Selected, ripe marula fruits.
Fresh juice from the pulp of marula fruit.
Fatty cream.

The method of preparation

Fruits are poured into stone tanks.
Use rotating sharp blades to separate the peel and pips from the pulp.
Then the pulp ferments and goes through the fermentation process.
The strained drink is distilled 2 times through a copper boiler.
The resulting alcohol is mixed with marula extract.
The mixture is aged in oak barrels for 2 years.
Then add cream to the liquid.
The finished liqueur is bottled in branded bottles.

How and with what to drink Amarula + cocktail recipes

Those who are very fond of sweets will like the liqueur in its pure form. Coffee or ice cream with Amarula is a good dessert option. But most often cocktails are made with African digestif. Here are some recipes: