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October 2005

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Cocktails & Spirits

Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur

A Liqueur To Spice Things Up

CAPSULE REPORT: Perfectly capturing the flavors in chai tea, this delicious chai tea liqueur is perfect for sipping or for incorporating into desserts and other dishes. It’s a winner!

Americans latched on to masala chai, or chai tea, several years ago; and the market for chai teas has been growing at 50% annually. We’ve had everything from chai ice cream to crème brulée: When Starbucks is selling green tea chai latte, you know it’s mainstream.

Now, there’s Voyant Chai Cream, a sweet and spicy chai tea-inspired liqueur made of an international cast of ingredients: Virgin Island rum aged in oak casks, Dutch cream, India black tea and spices (notably cinnamon, clove, ginger and vanilla), and premium Dutch spirits. The fresh Dutch cream is GBH- and antibiotic-free.

Rich and creamy like a dessert, drunk chilled and straight, Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur is a lovely end to a meal...an accompaniment to hot or iced tea or coffee...a smooth, sweet treat instead of an ice cream. Many carb-conscious people have steered clear of liqueurs, but this is not your father’s crème de menthe. You don’t need to drink a lot: just a little bit is satisfying. On the other hand, a bottle, a friend, and two glasses can make for a dangerous afternoon or evening: It’s 25 proof, or 12.5% alcohol, similar to the average wine. As with wine, there are layers of flavor, and you can spend lots of time deconstructing them.

For those tired of Appletinis and Cosmos, the website has more than a dozen cocktail recipes including a Chai Berry Martini with vodka Voyant and Chambord, a Clair-Voyant Martini with vodka, Voyant, and a splash of ginger ale; and a Choco-Chai Martini layering vanilla vodka with Voyant, White Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, and Crème de Cacao. There’s also Chai Egg Nog (great idea!); a variation of Irish coffee called a Chai Chi; a Chai Bomb, with a half glass of Guinness. If you want something more substantive, Moroccan Lamb Stew is seasoned with Voyant liqueur, fresh ginger and dried prunes. For dessert, you can pour Voyant on top of vanilla ice cream as a dessert; or if you’re ambitious, make the Sour Cream Chai Cake with Ginger Snap Crust. For snacks, try an adult smoothie by blending Voyant with crushed ice; or pour a shot into your cocoa. The bottle, colored in terra cotta, persimmon, tangerine, and touches of dark red, is appropriately spicy; yet we don’t personally feel that the design element and logo work to the product’s best advantage. The custom-drawn “Voyant” typeface is hard to read and evocative of Medieval script rather than a stylized homage to Hindi or the other three Indian alphabets...or spice.

The abstract design element looks to us like a blouse neckline. (We are told it represents an abstract V for Voyant and an upside-down flame.) We are only design critics from the standpoint that often packaging works for or against a purchase, and this packaging makes a strong statement in person (the photo is subdued). Of course, other people will flip for it. If you don’t, don’t let that stop you from enjoying the delicious product inside.

With the holidays coming up, a bit of spice may be just what you’re looking for—for entertaining, for a host/hostess gift, or for your general gift list as an item gift your friends and clients haven’t seen before. You can tell them, on your gift cards, that according to legend, a king in the ancient courts of India invented chai 5,000 years ago. The sensuous blend of spices was considered a royal treasure for centuries in the courts of India and Siam. It is considered by many in the east to be an aphrodisiac.

That may guarantee that the bottle won’t sit unopened on the shelf.

VOYANT Chai Cream Liqueur 750 ml Bottle Suggested Retail Price $22.99 Purchase online at Internet Liquor Store for $27.50 plus shipping. For recipes and a retail distributor locator, visit VoyantChai.com.

Voyant Chai Cream is the color of hot chai—tea with milk. Add some to your hot tea (or coffee) for a new take on Irish Coffee.

© Copyright 2005-2012 Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved.  Images are the copyright of their respective owners.

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