Galliano
Galliano is an Italian liqueur brand that has been part of the Dutch spirits group Lucas Bols since 2006 . The best known are the yellow Galliano liqueurs, which historically were offered in different variants. A yellow vanilla and a herbal liqueur have been available in Germany since 2010.
history
In 1896 the Italian Arturo Vaccari from Livorno in Tuscany created an intensely yellow herbal liqueur, which he named after Major Giuseppe Galliano. In the First Abyssinian War in 1895/1896, he defended an Italian fortress against overwhelming odds and fell a little later in the Battle of Adua, for which he was posthumously awarded the gold medal of bravery . The golden yellow color, in turn, should be reminiscent of Italian emigrants who emigrated to the USA in the course of the gold rush in the second half of the 19th century.
Vaccari's distillery in Livorno is said to have been destroyed during World War II. Later it was produced in Solaro near Milan. In 1989 the French spirits group Rémy Cointreau took over the distillery Riunite di Liquori (DRL) in Solaro, which was threatened with closure and which at the time employed a good 50 people.
Galliano has been available on the German market since the 1980s, following its success in the USA. However, the original recipe of the yellow Galliano has been changed several times over the years. The color-giving saffron was replaced by the artificial color E 102 ( tartrazine ) and caramelized sugar . In addition, the liqueur became sweeter and milder. Outside of Italy, until 2008, only a variant called "Galliano Smooth Vanilla" with 30% vol. Was available. The vanilla aromas could be clearly tasted in this sweet and spicy liqueur .
In the course of the management buy-out and the spin-off of Bols from the Rémy-Cointreau Group, the Italian liqueur brands Galliano and Vaccari also switched to the new Lucas Bols BV in 2006. At the end of 2008, Bols surprisingly removed the previous Galliano Smooth Vanilla from the market and replaced it with the herbal liqueur Galliano L'Autentico . This supposedly "authentic" Galliano was supposed to correspond to the original and not only had a significantly higher alcohol content (42.3% vol.), But also a slightly greener color than its predecessor, but above all a completely different taste profile. But just a few months later, in the spring of 2010, Bols announced that it would be producing the previous Smooth Vanilla again and marketing it from now on as the “classic” Galliano Vanilla alongside L'Autentico .
In Europe, Galliano is distributed by Maxxium, a sales subsidiary of Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc. with the Edrington Group.
The Galliano liqueurs
The yellow Galliano L'Autentico is made from more than 30 different herbs through multiple infusions and distillation steps. With 42.3% vol., It is stronger, hotter and spicier than Galliano Smooth Vanilla and its taste is reminiscent of the French herbal bitter Chartreuse jaune (yellow chartreuse), although anise can be clearly tasted. Galliano Smooth Vanilla and its successor Galliano Vanilla are sweet and spicy vanilla liqueurs with 30% vol. The typical tall and slim bottle was only minimally changed when the product changed in 2008. The 0.7 liter bottles used since then are almost 44 cm high.
When cocktail recipes only ask for "Galliano" as an ingredient, they always mean yellow Galliano. However, depending on the time and place of origin of the recipe, the liqueurs can be very different in taste. Well-known cocktails with Galliano are the short drinks Golden Cadillac and Golden Dream , as well as the long drink Harvey Wallbanger . Both can be mixed with the milder vanilla liqueur Galliano (Smooth) Vanilla as well as with the herbal liqueur Galliano L'Autentico , on which the recipes were probably originally based. It is unclear which product was originally used to prepare the Flying Cangaroo , a colada variant , created by Charles Schumann in 1979 ; In the author's various bar books, the ingredient is simply referred to as Galliano .
In addition to the two yellow Galliano liqueurs, there are others: Galliano Ristretto , a dark espresso liqueur made from Arabica and Robusta beans, and Galliano Balsamico , a liqueur with balsamic vinegar . For a long time, both were only available in Italy, since 2010 Galliano Ristretto has also been marketed in Germany. In 2017, the Amaro Galliano l'Apéritivo was presented, and there is also an Amaretto . All Galliano liqueurs are offered in the characteristic tall bottle.
Web links
- Official Galliano brand website (in German, English or Italian)
- Article about the Galliano on that's the SPIRIT! (engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ See for example Flying Cangaroo. In: Charles Schumann : Schumann's Bar . Collection Rolf Heyne, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-89910-416-5 , p. 98.