Raspberry Royalty – Chambord

Chambord is a mix of red and black raspberries, Madagascar vanilla, honey, Moroccan citrus peel and XO Cognac. It’s based on a Loire Valley red raspberry liqueur recipe created in honour of Louis XIV’s visit to Chateau de Chambord in the late 1600s (it’s good to be king, people make drinks up just for you!) The present-day Chambord, however, was not created until 1982 and, in 2006, the brand was acquired by the Brown-Forman Corporation. It is quite light at 16.5% alcohol.

Chambord comes in an orb-shaped bottle. Until the mid-2010, the bottle came with a metallic gold plastic lettered ‘belt’ around the middle and a crown atop its lid. The bottle was modelled after a Globus Cruciger, also known as the orb and cross, which has been a Christian symbol of authority since the Middle Ages. The cross represents Christ’s dominion over the orb of the world, literally held in the hand of an earthly ruler. In the iconography of Western art, when Christ himself holds the globe, he is called Salvator Mundi, the Saviour of the World. Quite a leap for a bottle of liqueur.

In 2010, the bottle received some minor tweaks, and unfortunately, in my opinion, lost the majestic lid.

Around this same time Chambord decided to embrace the flavoured vodka craze and created a Vodka Chambord (yum).

Chambord can be used to make a Kir Royale if you run out of/don’t have Cassis handy. It is also most famously known for starring in the “French Martini”. The French Martini was created in the early 1980s by Keith McNally (who also brought you Balthazar’s in New York City). The French Martini was also responsible for the starting the “cocktails as martinis” craze.

The French Martini:

What you need:

• Chambord – 1/2 oz
• Vodka – 2 oz
• Pineapple juice – 2 oz
• Chilled martini glass
• Martini shaker
• Ice
• Raspberries  (optional garnish)

What you do:

• Place ice in your martini shaker
• Add Chambord
• Add Vodka
• Add Pineapple juice
• Shake
• Strain into chilled cocktail glass.
• Garnish with raspberries.
• Drink
• Relax: since this is mostly fruit juices, it can be considered a smoothie.
• Start wearing a beret and shrugging and pursing your lips when asked questions.