Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur Review

Reviewed by Catherine Joyce

It is very easy to get carried away at Christmas and end up spending too much money, so a couple of years ago my family decided to just buy Christmas gifts for the children and buy one food/alcohol gift per family. I like to buy something more interesting than a bottle of wine/box of chocolates so tend to look at liqueurs and nice food gifts as they are always well received. I was really pleased when I was asked to review Chambord as it is a liqueur that I hadn’t tried before and after finding out that it is a raspberry liqueur I knew it would go down well with my family.

Chambord is crafted in the province of Chambord in the Loire Valley and is an infusion of red and black raspberries, Madagascan vanilla and XO cognac. After choosing the world’s finest blackberries and raspberries they are squeezed, soaked in French spirits and left to mingle for four weeks to surrender their flavour. More French spirits are then added to wash the fruit for more flavour and then after two weeks the infusion has infused and the Chambord is ready to drink. Chambord is inspired by a luxurious raspberry liqueur that, according to legend, was produced for French royalty to commemorate their visits to the Loire Valley in the 17th century.

Chambord comes in a distinctive spherical bottle with the name across the middle on a gold band. The bottle I received to review was in a smart open fronted box which makes it look more elegant and perfect as a Christmas gift.

When you open the bottle, the liqueur smells quite rich and fruity and I could also smell a hint of chocolate. I thought it was nice poured over crushed ice but it also goes well with prosecco.

There are plenty of cocktails that use Chambord, have a look at the Chambord website for some ideas. I especially enjoyed the Chambord Royale which you make by pouring champagne, cava or prosecco into a glass and adding Chambord to taste, finishing with a raspberry. For a Christmas cocktail try the Very Berry cocktail where you mix a spoonful of sugar with 3 raspberries, pour in 25ml Chambord, 125ml red wine and 25ml of fresh lemon juice. You then top up with hot water and add a lemon slice studded with cloves. It sounds amazing and tastes even better!

I enjoy cooking so am planning to use Chambord in desserts over the next few weeks. I think it will go nicely in a chocolate gateau or a chocolate trifle, so I am going to enjoy experimenting in the lead up to Christmas and then use the best recipes when we are entertaining over the Christmas period.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £23.99 (70cl)

For more information and cocktail recipes visit www.chambordchannel.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.