Crème Yvette Delicieuse Liqueur 750ml (ships as 1.5 L)

When I first read about violet liqueurs years back I knew that I had to get a hold of some. At that point, crème de violette was still an item only obtainable in foreign countries; an obstacle, but not an insurmountable one. Crème Yvette, however, was the real holy grail, according to reports from the truly obsessed who had managed to seek it out: a proprietary liqueur concocted in Victorian times and not seen for sale on any stores shelf since around the 1970s. It sounded wonderful. Being nearly unobtainable, enjoying same was nothing more than a reverie. Thankfully, that’s changed. Plucked from history’s dustbin, Crème Yvette is back! and to try it is to wonder at the cruel tide of fashion that swept it there in the first place. Crème Yvette is not interchangeable with crème de violette. Violet is only part of Crème Yvette, not the whole kit and caboodle. The berries in the liqueur are more prominent at first. When mixed in a drink, it isn’t until you’ve taken a sip and the sip has trickled down your throat that you really know the violet is there. It’s like the melody that you continue to hum to yourself long after the show has let out, or the scent of a flower pressed in a book from a past summer, an ephemeral phenomena where the experience of it already acknowledges its passing. Or, anyhow, it seemed that way after a couple cocktails made with it...