The Canton Ladies Sing This Song
Recently I was rewarded, via this website, with a sample of Canton’s new version of their ginger and Cognac liqueur (I knew that if I typed long enough, I’d get something out of the deal).
Originally Canton was produced in China in a perfume-like multifaceted bottle with ginger, ginseng, herbs, honey and brandy. Discontinued in 1997 the son of the original distributor has decided to bring Canton back to the US, albeit with different packaging and formula. Canton’s need to fill a missing niche in the market was long overdue, for according to Martin Doudoroff, Canton is the most searched for item on Cocktaildb.
The first thing that one notices about the bottle (besides the bamboo shape) is the weight. This spirit is encased in thick glass and a heavy metal cap, giving one the indication that this is a spirit of high quality.
Pouring out and tasting the pale gold liqueur, I immediately got the bite of ginger, mellowed by a honeyed sweetness, which reminded me of Giffard’s Ginger of the Indies. Grabbing my bottle of Giffard I poured out a small sample of that spirit and tasted the two side by side, only to have my initial thoughts confirmed. Other than a little more heat and bite from the Giffard product, these two liqueurs could have come from the same mother.
Cocktails now being in order, I immediately poured one of Gary’s treats, the Debonair, which is the first drink I always think of when one mentions ginger liqueur. Suitably satiated by that libation, I decided to create my own, named after Canton’s newest birthplace.
Please enjoy the:
JARNAC COCKTAIL
1 ½ oz Famous Grouse Scotch
½ oz Canton’s ginger liqueur
½ oz Nonino amaro
2 dashes Peychaud’s bittersstir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Drink and pictures by:
Jamie Boudreau
www.vesselseattle.com
.
SpiritsAndCocktails.com 
canton? what about stone’s ginger wine? much better product and canton always seemed to be a poor copy of it… whiskey mac anyone?
[…] soon as I got it home, I opened it and poured a dram into a small snifter. Both Paul and Jamie have already written about their bottles, and I find no fault with their tasting notes on the […]
A Dash of Bitters » Blog Archive » Gingered and smokin’ said this on October 30, 2007 at 9:40 am |
Fake comments will not be tolerated, I’ve deleted one, and if I discover that Paul didn’t give your product 5 stars, soon, the other.
[…] liqueur created by John Cooper (brother to Rob Cooper, creator of St. Germain) that has received a fair bit of positive press. As soon as I heard “ginger,” a light bulb went off in my head. […]
Married …with dinner » Blog Archive » DOTW: Asian Orange said this on April 13, 2008 at 1:20 pm |
I was wondering if anyone’s had a chance to try the “King’s Ginger”? I think it’s being distributed by the same company that handles Luxardo’s Maraschino, so I assume it’s of decent quality.