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Gentian liqueur
Spirits & brews· liqueur
What it is
Gentian liqueur is a liqueur, such as Suze or Salers, made by macerating or distilling gentian root with alcohol.
What it tastes like
The house reads it as alpine, honeyed, herbal ✳ — a known palate, not yet a cited measurement. Among its measured molecules: gentiopicroside, loganic acid, amarogentin, sweroside, swertiamarin.
What goes with it
Salt and acid
Salt
Salt not measured yet.
Acid
Acid not measured yet.
Unusual pairings
Pairs the library can cite that almost nobody makes.
- Gentian liqueur + Fernet / alpine amaro
both carry amarogentin (3 of 338 carry it)
- Gentian liqueur + Gentian
both carry amarogentin (3 of 338 carry it)
Every one of its 7 compounds carries a paper the library can cite.
gentiopicrosidearomasugarMeasured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite
2.22 to 905.10 mg/L across the seven gentian liqueurs (L-1 2.22, L-2 4.01, L-3 905.10, L-4 4.45, L-5 66.06, L-6 56.53, L-7 661.31); the paper's Introduction names gentiopicroside as gentian root's main bitter-tasting secoiridoid glycoside — Gibitz-Eisath et al. 2022, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (Table 5 (Quantitative Results for Compounds 1-9 in Different G. radix Liqueur Samples; All Values Are in mg L-1 Liqueur), column 5, rows L-1 to L-7; compound numbering fixed in Results section 2.2)loganic acidaromaacidMeasured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite
below the limit of quantitation in L-4 and from 13.27 to 181.78 mg/L in the other six liqueurs; the paper reports that in two samples (L-1, L-2) loganic acid was the dominant compound of the nine — Gibitz-Eisath et al. 2022, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (Table 5, column 6, rows L-1 to L-7)amarogentinaromasugarMeasured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite
3.55 to 49.64 mg/L across the seven gentian liqueurs; the paper describes amarogentin as 'the most bitter natural product known to date' — Gibitz-Eisath et al. 2022, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (Table 5, column 7, rows L-1 to L-7; Results)swerosidearomasugarMeasured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite
4.09 to 85.31 mg/L across the seven gentian liqueurs; identified by the paper as the major compound of the nine in part of the sample set — Gibitz-Eisath et al. 2022, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (Table 5, column 4, rows L-1 to L-7)swertiamarinaromasugarMeasured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite
below the limit of quantitation in L-1 and from 9.75 to 44.68 mg/L in the other six liqueurs; one of the bitter-tasting secoiridoid glycosides the paper's Introduction names alongside gentiopicroside — Gibitz-Eisath et al. 2022, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (Table 5, column 3, rows L-1 to L-7)gentisinaromaphenolMeasured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite
3.55 to 65.29 mg/L across the seven gentian liqueurs; a xanthone, quantified at 232 nm — Gibitz-Eisath et al. 2022, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (Table 5, column 1, rows L-1 to L-7)isogentisinaromaphenolMeasured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite
1.85 to 41.88 mg/L across the seven gentian liqueurs; the xanthone isomer of gentisin, quantified at 232 nm — Gibitz-Eisath et al. 2022, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (Table 5, column 2, rows L-1 to L-7)
Sources
- Gibitz-Eisath et al. 2022, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry