Creme De Menthe (green)
A bright green, mint-flavored liqueur, sweeter and more intense than fresh mint.
Origin
France, part of the 19th-century "creme de" liqueur tradition, built around mint rather than fruit.
History
Creme de menthe developed alongside other French "creme de" liqueurs in the 19th century, distilling and sweetening mint into a bright, cooling liqueur. The green color (as opposed to the clear/white version, which tastes essentially the same) became closely associated with the Grasshopper, a mid-20th-century dessert cocktail that leans into the liqueur's vivid color as much as its minty flavor.
Flavor profile
Sweet, intensely minty, with a cooling sensation similar to mint candy.
Tasting notes
Tastes like liquid mint candy, sweet and cooling with a strong, unmistakable peppermint character, best used in small amounts unless a drink specifically wants that bold, candy-mint flavor to lead.
Substitutes
- White (clear) creme de menthe, for an identical flavor without the green color.
- Peppermint schnapps, for a similar minty sweetness at a generally higher proof.
- Fresh mint muddled with simple syrup, for a fresher, less candy-like minty sweetness.
