Spain’s most famous liqueur, Licor 43 is made from a secret 70-year-old family recipe of 43 natural ingredients including selected Mediterranean citrus fruits and botanicals.

Sponsored content by Licor 43.

First released in 1946, Licor 43 is produced in its original home of Cartagena in south-eastern Spain: in fact, this is still the only place that Licor 43 is ever produced.

Legend tells that Licor 43 is inspired by the Liqvor Mirabilis discovered by the Romans when they conquered Carthago Nova in 209 BC. On arrival, the invaders banned production and consumption of this golden, herbal elixir infused with local fruits and herbs… but luckily for us, the Carthaginians continued to consume it in secret.

Today, Licor 43 has an ABV of 31% by volume and is the fastest-growing premium liqueur in the world.[1] Long loved in Spain and delicious served over ice, Licor 43 is now available in over 60 countries around the world including the Netherlands, Germany, and Mexico where the Carajillo 43 reigns supreme.

Coffee has always been in Licor 43’s roots, going back to the Café Asiatico in Cartagena and the Café Barraquito in Tenerife in the 1950s—there has always been an appreciation for the natural marriage of aromas and flavors between the two. Coffee and Licor 43 definitely taste better together.

If any drink is emblematic of the increased awareness of the after-dinner coffee cocktail moment, it is the Carajillo in Mexico. Originally, according to legend, this is a coffee and rum drink served to workers on Cuban plantations to give them coraje (“courage”) to get through the day. There are now two serves in bars all over Mexico City—one shaken, and one stirred. And the liqueur of choice for the drink? Licor 43 Original, leading to an increase from 14.893 cases in 2010 to 114.178 in 2019 (8.4 liter cases standard, Source: IWSR 2018) and helping confirm Licor 43 Original as the world’s fastest growing premium liqueur.[1]

Carajillo 43 Recipe

A popular serve in Mexico, this serve combines the strength and bitterness of espresso coffee with the spicy sweetness of Licor 43

Ingredients

50mL Licor 43 (1 part / 1¾oz)
1 hot espresso coffee
ice cubes

Method (not shaken)

Half fill your glass with ice cubes and pour Licor 43 over the top.
Serve alongside the cup of hot espresso and, before drinking, pour the coffee over the liqueur and stir.

Method (shaken)

Pour Licor 43 in a cocktail shaker
Add a shot of hot espresso and some ice cubes.
Shake it and strain into a glass full of ice.

Glassware: Balon / tumbler glass

For further inspiration for cocktail creativity, visit: https://www.licor43.com/en/cocktails/

Licor 43 - The Extended Family!

Licor 43 Baristo - Launched In 2018

Licor 43 Baristo is a fusion of Licor 43 Original, containing 43 natural ingredients, including one of a kind coffee from the Canary Islands. The result of this assemblage is a complex and elegant liqueur that delivers surprising, new flavors, but conserves the characteristic soul of Licor 43: freshly roasted coffee, in harmony with the botanic, citric, floral, and vanilla notes of Licor 43 Original. It is a complex and sophisticated drink with a surprising new flavor and premium presentation, which is why it is not considered to be a coffee liqueur.

Caring for Canary Island Coffee Plantations

Canary Island coffee plantations are a wonderful rarity. Coffee plants need warm, humid, and tropical weather. Yet Agaete Valley terrains are volcanic and rainfall is very scarce. In addition, the crops in Gran Canaria are located at low altitude, around 400 meters above sea level, compared to Arabica varietals which are normally found at around 800 meters.

The care of the environment in which these plants grow is unique, since its cultivation is possible thanks to the heat condensed under the shade of the fruit trees found in the valley: avocados, mangoes, papayas, oranges, grapefruit, and other tropical fruits, under which the plant remains at between 16 and 18º C.

Licor 43 Bartenders & Baristas Challenge 2020!

Licor 43 took its annual Bartenders & Baristas Challenge online this year with a “virtual” version of the competition.

The Spanish liqueur brand was once again calling on cocktail and coffee professionals around the world to showcase their expertise and creativity in the art of pairing Licor 43 and coffee, and took this fourth edition online via its website and social media to show support for, and solidarity with, bartenders and baristas during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 competition once again consisted of finding the best new Licor 43 Coffee Cocktail recipe: entry was via the Licor 43 website over three weeks in staged periods for different countries. Entrants were invited to submit films of them making their creations to the national rounds, with local judging teams selecting between six and ten finalists. Of these, one was chosen to go on to the next, global final, stage. Here, the finalists tasked with revising their recipes so they can be evaluated by the global judging panel composed of cocktail gurus Simon Difford and Merijn Gijsbers, and coffee consultant and educator Timon Kaufmann.

Annarose Krone from Nic's on Beverly bar in Los Angeles in the US has taken the top spot in this year’s Licor 43 Bartenders and Baristas Challenge.

In the final, which was presented on Facebook Premiere on October 23, Annarose beat eight other fellow finalists from around the world with her “Deja Brew” cocktail, combining Licor 43 with blended scotch, chocolate bitters, dark roast espresso, and raspberries into a coupe glass.

Aidan Jordan Tibbins from Kore Bar in Wigan, UK (who entered via the European Bartending School) took second place with his “Bean There Licor That” creation and Berenice Morales from Hotel St Regis in Mexico City was voted third place with her “Fusion 43” cocktail.

Annarose Krone’s winning cocktail: Deja Brew

Ingredients:

20 mL Licor 43
45 mL blended scotch
2 dashes chocolate bitters
30 mL dark-roast espresso (Groundwork Bitches Brew)
3 raspberries

Cocktail preparation:

Add all the ingredients to tin. Make sure your espresso is freshly brewed.
Dry shake (no ice).
Add ice and shake again—this time long and hard.
Double/fine strain the cocktail into a chilled coupe glass.
Skewer 3 raspberries, and gently rest this on top of the cocktail’s pillow-like crema.
Serve (or drink!) immediately. And enjoy a perfectly bloomed cocktail!

Coffee preparation:

Groundwork Coffee’s organic roast: 17g
Liquid produced: 30 mL
Water temperature: 90-96°C
Extraction time: 25 seconds
Amount of pours: 2

Licor 43 is a premium liqueur produced in Cartagena, Spain, from a secret Spanish family recipe of 43 natural ingredients including Mediterranean citrus fruit and selected botanicals. Licor 43 shares complementary tasting notes with coffee, and it loves putting extraordinary things together. Learn more about how Licor 43 calls on cocktail and coffee professionals around the world to showcase their expertise and creativity at with their Barista and Bartenders Challenge. Licor 43: Tastes better together.

[1] IWSR 2019

Deja Brew: Meet the Winning Cocktail of the Licor 43 Bartenders & Baristas Challenge