Galliano is a herbal liqueur from Tuscany, Italy. It has a prominent vanilla flavour, but also adds a plethora of other herbs and spices.
History
Galliano was first created in 1896, and named after an Italian war hero who’d been awarded some medal the year before (and not the anti-semitic fashion guy). It now belongs to Lucas Bols B. V.
Production
Neutral alcohol is macerated with anise, lavender and juniper amongst other herbs, distilled and then macerated with vanilla. After that, water, neutral alcohol and sugar are added. This two-stage approach explains the dominance of vanilla. It used to get it”s distinct colour from saffron. These days, however, chemicals are used.
Products
There’s two very similar products by Galliano. The autentico and the vanilla.The former boasts 42.3 % abv. and has stronger anise notes. Some people say it compares to Chartreuse Jaune.
The vanilla is 30 % abv. It has a slighty spicy nose, with vanilla and anise all over the place. It is extremely mellow in the mouth; starts off slightly spicy on the tongue (cinnamon, lavender) and then gives way for a long vanilla finish.
When I traveled to Australia, I saw a couple of other Galliano products, namely sambucas, a coffee liqueur and an amaretto liqueur. But as far as I know, they are not available in Switzerland.
