Is Portuguese Honey Liqueur Made with Only 4 Ingredients?

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The discussion revolves around a bottle of honey liqueur labeled "Liqueur de Mel," which raises questions about its ingredients and production process. The ingredients listed are "Aqua, Alcool, Acucar, Essencia de Mel," with "Alcool" indicating a high-proof alcohol, "Açucar" meaning sugar, and "Essencia de Mel" referring to honey essence. Participants clarify that "mel" is indeed related to honey and that the product likely contains a mixture of alcohol, sugar, and honey essence rather than being a traditional fermented beverage like mead. Concerns are expressed about the labeling practices, particularly regarding whether the ingredients accurately reflect the production method. The conversation touches on the differences between fortified wines and liqueurs, with some suggesting that the honey liqueur may be a simple concoction rather than a product of fermentation and aging. The discussion also humorously considers the potential uses of the liqueur beyond drinking.
brewnog
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I just found a bottle of honey liqueur which my parents brought back from Portugal a few years ago. At least, I think it's honey liqueur. There's a picture of a bee on the bottle, and it says "Liqueur de Mel" on the label. Either I'm right in thinking that "mel" is honey related (I can't be bothered to look it up, and it's similar to that in Welsh), or I'm drinking bee liqueur.

Anyway, there is a point to this thread.

The ingredients are listed as "Aqua, Alcool, Acucar, Essencia de Mel". Now I'm not too fussed about whatever 'acucar' turns out to be, but when I'm drinking beer, I want the ingredients to be water, barley, sugar, yeast and hops. When I'm drinking wine, I want the ingredients to be water, fruit, sugar and yeast. In either case, I'd be scared if 'alcohol' was listed as an ingredient, since it's not something which is added to the drink, it's a natural by-product of a reaction between the ingredients.

So, onto my question:

Is this just a Portuguese anomaly, and I'm drinking the result of weeks of fermentation and months of cask conditioning, or has my honey liqueur just been made by some guy mixing up 4 ingredients and sticking it into a bottle?
 
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I believe acucar would be sugar. Some alcoholic beverages have alcohol added (fortified), but it may be just their method of labeling.
 
Evo said:
I believe acucar would be sugar. Some alcoholic beverages have alcohol added (fortified), but it may be just their method of labeling.

But are they allowed to do that?
 
brewnog said:
Either I'm right in thinking that "mel" is honey related (I can't be bothered to look it up, and it's similar to that in Welsh), or I'm drinking bee liqueur.
:smile: :smile:

brewnog said:
The ingredients are listed as "Aqua, Alcool, Acucar, Essencia de Mel".
Here, Alcool is the brand-name of a tasteless, very high-percentage (about 180 proof) beverage that is primarily used to kick up the effectiveness of other drinks without wrecking the taste. As for Essencia de Mel, as far as I know the 'Essence of Honey' is bee spit.
 
Açucar in portuguese is sugar (for example, the Paõ de Açúcar in Rio means literally "Bread of sugar"). Mel is honey in portuguese, as well as in catalan, in spanish is miel
 
In Spanish sugar is azucar, and honey is miel. Portuguese is very similar to Spanish. It probably is Honey Liquor. Essencia de mel would be the essence of honey.
 
Yes yes, I've worked all that out.

But as for my question, does that labelling imply that those are what's actually been used to make the product, and if not, are they allowed to label it such?
 
brewnog said:
But are they allowed to do that?
Yes. I'm most familiar with fortified wines, it's a process that increases the alcohol. Not sure what the stuff is that you are drinking.
 
Evo said:
Yes. I'm most familiar with fortified wines, it's a process that increases the alcohol. Not sure what the stuff is that you are drinking.

But with a fortified wine (or anything similar), they start with an already-alcoholic thing, and then just add some more. I'm not asking about the legality of the process, but the labeling. This stuff's 16% alcohol, which (I think) is stronger than what you can make by fermentation alone, so it's obviously had its concentration increased, either by addition or distillation, but I thought that the laws about listing ingredients on foodstuffs was much more stringent?
 
  • #10
brewnog said:
But are they allowed to do that?
"We don't need no stinking badges." :cool:
 
  • #11
You probably have a mead or something attempting to be mead-like, one of the oldest fermented beverages still in existence. You can find it unfortified, but sometimes it is sold fortified as a means to balance out the high sugar content with more alcohol. Other wines like certain dessert course wines are also fortified, as well as the varieties like MD 20/20, which are bottom shelf "wines" consumed by less discriminating enophiles. We regularly drink mead at our local Rennaisance Festival, when we dress up like theives and wenches, get drunk and watch jousting...huzzah! :biggrin:
 
  • #12
Mead is made by fermenting honey. Brewnogs "Honey Liqueur" sounds like something else to me. I suspect it is the mix of the four separate ingredients.
 
  • #13
It's probably some horrid concoction of alcohol sweetened with honey and sugar.
 
  • #14
Moonbear said:
It's probably some horrid concoction of alcohol sweetened with honey and sugar.
Ooooohhh... perfect for pouring on ice cream!
 
  • #15
Or as lubricant!
 
  • #16
Mk said:
Or as lubricant!
Pretty perilous unless your bedroom is bee-proof. :eek:
 
  • #17
Yeah, it tastes nothing like mead, sadly.

Anyway, there's still plenty left so if anyone wants any...
 
  • #18
In my area, a lot of honey are cheaply sold, but I don't understand why most of the people here don't buy it, perhaps because of its sweetness which is really not good for health.
Mead I think is made from fermented honey (?), I honestly have never tasted mead before, or have had any intentions to do that. But I know how a cucumber tastes after being fermented.
 

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