8 Uncommon Liqueurs You Should Try

Humans have been inventive enough to make booze with what they have found in their surroundings, regardless of where they lived, since the very beginning. The Irish and Scots made whisky from a combination of cereal, water and wood. The people of Georgia were the first to make wine from grapes, and the people of Mesopotamia made beer thousands of years ago. However, not all alcoholic beverages have become global phenomenons, and while some have become commonplace globally, they are yet to be fully discovered in India.

- Nikhil Agarwal

Let’s start with Brennivin, which means burning wine in English. Brennivin is also known as Black Death; this spirit is Iceland’s answer to the spirit world and is exclusively made in the country. Made from grains, potatoes and caraway seeds, this spirit is a lot like Aquavit, a popular Scandinavian drink. Not necessarily something even the locals would drink regularly, Brennivin is consumed at feasts and is a sort of novelty. The name has nothing to do with high alcohol content – it was put on the label post prohibition to warn people of the dangers of drinking. Since then, the label has been changed to the map of Iceland, but the name carries on.

Blue Wine recently made a huge splash in the papers, creating global interest for it incredibly quickly. In my humble opinion, I predict that the interest will go away quickly too. Originating from Spain, this wine is made using both white and red grape varieties. It gets its colour from anthocyanin,  a pigment found in grape skin and indigo dye. There’s not much history to share, except that a new company and a team at the University of Basque thought it up. I’m all for trying anything new at least once (and I must admit that I have not tried this yet) but I doubt any of us will be giving up our Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons for this interesting yet gimmicky vino.