Pousse cafe
Encyclopedia
A pousse-café is a style of layered drink
prepared by gently adding each ingredient from densest to least dense in order to create colored stripes when the drink is viewed from the side. Some bartender guides list a drink containing, from bottom to top, grenadine
, yellow chartreuse
and green chartreuse as the original pousse-café. The drink is made primarily as a delight for the eye rather than for its taste. It is sipped, sometimes through a silver straw, one liqueur at a time. The drink must be created and handled carefully, as the layers created will mix together into a brown sludge if handled roughly.
The name literally means "it pushes the coffee" in French
. Colloquially, the term is equivalent to a "chaser" for coffee. A digestif, an alcoholic cordial
sometimes consumed after a meal to aid digestion, is called a "pousse-café" or coffee-chaser. In France, there is no tradition for the type of elaborate recipe that follows.
A more elaborate recipe is:
Layered drink
A layered drink is a kind of cocktail in which the slightly different densities of various liqueurs are used to create an array of colored layers. Anywhere from three to seven layers are customary. Layered drinks must be prepared such that the specific gravity of the liquid ingredients increases...
prepared by gently adding each ingredient from densest to least dense in order to create colored stripes when the drink is viewed from the side. Some bartender guides list a drink containing, from bottom to top, grenadine
Grenadine
Grenadine is traditionally a red syrup. It is used as an ingredient in cocktails, both for its flavor and to give a reddish/pink tinge to mixed drinks. "Grenadines" are also made by mixing the syrup with cold water in a glass or pitcher, sometimes with ice....
, yellow chartreuse
Chartreuse (liqueur)
Chartreuse is a French liqueur made by the Carthusian Monks since the 1740s. It is composed of distilled alcohol aged with 130 herbal extracts. The liqueur is named after the Monks' Grande Chartreuse monastery, located in the Chartreuse Mountains in the general region of Grenoble in France...
and green chartreuse as the original pousse-café. The drink is made primarily as a delight for the eye rather than for its taste. It is sipped, sometimes through a silver straw, one liqueur at a time. The drink must be created and handled carefully, as the layers created will mix together into a brown sludge if handled roughly.
The name literally means "it pushes the coffee" in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. Colloquially, the term is equivalent to a "chaser" for coffee. A digestif, an alcoholic cordial
Cordial
Cordial may refer to:* Squash , a non-alcoholic fruit drink concentrate* Elderflower cordial, a non-alcoholic beverage* Cordial , a medicinal beverage* Cordial , a type of candy that has a fruit filling inside a chocolate shell...
sometimes consumed after a meal to aid digestion, is called a "pousse-café" or coffee-chaser. In France, there is no tradition for the type of elaborate recipe that follows.
A more elaborate recipe is:
- 1/2 ounce GrenadineGrenadineGrenadine is traditionally a red syrup. It is used as an ingredient in cocktails, both for its flavor and to give a reddish/pink tinge to mixed drinks. "Grenadines" are also made by mixing the syrup with cold water in a glass or pitcher, sometimes with ice....
- 1/2 ounce Yellow Chartreuse
- 1/2 ounce Crème de CassisCrème de CassisCrème de cassis is a sweet, dark red liqueur that is made from blackcurrants.Several cocktails are made with crème de cassis, including the very popular wine cocktail, kir.-Origin and production:...
- 1/2 ounce White Crème de cacao
- 1/2 ounce Green Chartreuse
- 1/2 ounce BrandyBrandyBrandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...