Review: Heimat Liqueurs – Bosc Pear, Rhubarb, Blackberry, and White Peach
When first introduced to Heimat, Drinkhacker jumped the line by diving into their limited release premium bourbon cask-finished Bosc pear liqueur ahead of their core offerings. No we are retracing our steps here to explore their mainstay, which are the unfinished fruit liqueurs as unadulterated and natural as they come (“the fruit, and nothing but the fruit”).
As a quick refresher, Heimat is a New York based producer of all natural fruit liqueurs whose process embodies a “backyard-fruit-tree-to-glass” spirit witnessed by founder Ute Londigran in Germany as a child watching her grandmother make fruit liqueurs in her kitchen from fruit picked from trees grown in the backyard. Today, similarly, fruit for Heimat is sourced from direct partnerships with independent farms throughout New York state, where Londigran and her team visit for days at a time helping to pick the fruit themselves to transport back to their distillery, ensuring as little time passes between picking and production. (As a side note, the pressed fruit byproduct is returned to their partner farms to be used as compost.)
Now it’s time to make the rounds of four of their core line (more are set to follow). Keep in mind that all of these liqueurs do not feature any additives – no preservatives, coloring, or sweeteners. Alongside the straight tasting notes, we gave each flavor a turn in a cocktail based on recipes provided on Heimat’s website.
Update: Heimat liqueurs are in fact made with added sugar.
Heimat Bosc Pear Liqueur – If you strip away the bourbon cask finish, the experience of the unfinished Bosc pear liqueur is akin to bringing your nose right up to an overripe pear. (I bet you can smell it now.) A just-ripe pear is juicy and delicious but whose flavor can feel a bit elusive and fleeting, so it’s really only after some aging off the tree that the scent and flavors leave a more lasting presence on the nose and palate. The overripe pear brings about a distinct personality from, say, a poached or roasted pear, since there is no added hint of caramelization or really any other non-pear essence. Bosc Pear Liqueur hits that wonderful balance of a deeper, headier expression of pure pear goodness without the aftertaste trappings that would come with added flavorings or sweeteners to bolster the understated pear notes. We opted for trying their Mamhattan cocktail, which added a lovely, mellow tempering to the traditional Manhattan. 38 proof. A
Heimat Rhubarb Liqueur – The rhubarb has always been a bit of a culinary enigma for me, and I’ve never quite understood what it is other than as sidekick for strawberries every now and then. As a standalone liqueur, it evokes an eclectic array of floral fruit profiles of strawberry compote, juniper, and unexpectedly, peach. This combination makes for a rather versatile purveyor of softly aromatic and floral-forward fruits in your concoction of choice. The selected cocktail was Rhubarb Vermouth, and we were not expecting such a perfect twist on a spiked strawberry lemonade that is fruity and bright but not too sweet. 40 proof. A
Heimat Blackberry Liqueur – Apparently this is the flavor “where it all began” as the liqueur Londigran most remembers from her grandmother’s kitchen. The color of the liqueur is a strikingly dense midnight purple, with a silky slightly syrupy viscosity. A neat sip unveils a concentrated blackberry flavor with the intensity of fruit rollups and preserves and a Port-like richness without any hint of a non-blackberry source of sweetness. The touch of alcohol presents itself only as a slight punchiness on the palate but otherwise what is most conspicuous is the absence of any medicinal or alcohol-heavy notes for a liqueur (this is true of all the flavors). We decided on the Blackberry Smash, which was universally enjoyed for its boldly flavored yet refreshing experience. 40 proof. A
Heimat White Peach Liqueur – There is a similar nod to farm-fresh preserves in the nose of the White Peach Liqueur as well as the silky viscosity and enchanting golden hue. Peach flavors in general are some of the most understated and delicate, and the liqueur is no exception. It is delightful as a neat sip (in general, I recommend you take at least one neat sip of each of these expressions). At the risk of overshadowing the liqueur, we opted for a cocktail with the more gentle white wine base of the White Wine Peach Sangria which indeed resulted in a lightly fruited and refreshing drink. Interestingly, because of its delicate nature, it actually can pull additional duties that other bolder flavors cannot. The liqueur can be added to complement a bolder brighter flavor such as Rhubarb to add a subtle layered and sophisticated dimension to these cocktails. To that aim, we added the White Peach Liqueur to some of the Rhubarb Vermouth cocktail with the end result being a spiked strawberry lemonade with a philosophical side to it. You just have to try it. 40 proof. A
The overarching characteristics of all of the Heimat expressions so far is just how intense the fruit essence is showcased without any ancillary alcoholic or sweetening agent that is so commonly found in conventional liqueurs. All of these expressions shine equally in cocktails as well as a simple spritzer with seltzer and any desired adornment of additional spirits and/or garnishes thereafter. Heimat literally goes the extra mile to capture the truest characteristics of the fruit in their products, and the results are very satisfying. To be continued.
each $45 per 375 ml bottle / heimatny.com
Heimat Bosc Pear Liqueur
$45
I think you have invented this claim that there are no sweeteners, for example there is absolutely no way a rhubarb liqueur can be make palatable without added sugar as the plant itself has nearly zero sugar.