Getting in the spirit

A digestif is seen as the perfect end to a meal but, more importantly, it can add value to menus. Sheila Eggleston reports.

According to the experts, a digestif at the end of a meal is just as important as an aperitif at the beginning. But the jury is out as to what actually defines this tipple as the boundaries have become blurred.

The culinary bible Larousse describes a digestif as "a liqueur or spirit that may be taken after a meal, more for the pleasure of drinking it than for any digestive action, and should be served plain or with ice".

With more than 250 years' worth of knowledge about supplying fine wine and spirits and a client portfolio ranging from restaurants such as the Roux, Searcys and Gary Rhodes at The Cumberland to high class retailers like Harrods, wine merchant Justerini & Brooks has no doubt about the definition – "a digestif must be a spirit".

Account manager Ben Booth says: "If you were to look at the literal interpretation, it is a drink to help you digest food. Historically it's high in alcohol and infused with herbs."

Booth says famous examples include Kummel (Wolfschmidt or Mentzendorf), Fernet Branca, Amaro Montenegro, Amaro Averna and Jägermeister.

However, he adds, digestifs need not be herbal. Drinks such as grappa, armagnac, cognac, whisky and premium rum also fit the bill. "These are all at or above 40% abv and are great digestifs," he explains.

Booth says there is no legal definition on the strength but 35% to 40% proof would be around the mark.

"What we suggest for on trade is having a particular selection of drinks in vogue – good quality armagnac, a couple of varieties of top quality single malt whisky and a good cognac. But with competition from wine and port, you have to make it clear these are for after a meal," he says.

In his opinion port isn't a digestif. "Port is generally drunk with food – cheese or pudding, and the same goes with dessert wine. They generally go with food while digestifs are very much a high abv drink after the meal and by themselves."

Most restaurants are now trading up to more premium and luxury products, says Booth. "When people go out, they are now treating themselves – weekend millionaires – and this is having an effect on restaurants, with premium armagnac at £100 a bottle and luxury products like Johnny Walker Blue Label whisky on offer. People are willing to trade up occasionally – and they are making the effort."

Because of specifically targeted advertising, people from different demographics are coming into London, so it's important to talk it up, he adds.

ViVAS, a partnership between Bibendum Wine and food distributor 3663, says it is finding more opportunities for customers and digestifs are becoming more relevant in its business.

Marketing manager Henry John says: "We are selling more of them. They have potential because it is an incremental sale for businesses. The price margins are high – generally around 60%-70% gross profit.

"In the past it's been the preserve of the higher end of the market – the white tablecloth environment, but increasingly as businesses look to grow their sales opportunities there is a bigger market for them. However there is a slightly snobbish feeling around these drinks and that needs to be overhauled to allow it to become a bit more demographic."

He believes there is no hard and fast rule about what they are but, more significantly, people don't understand the term 'digestif'. "Consumers are just becoming more aware about having a glass of dessert wine, port or cognac at the end of a meal. It's up to what people want. If it's dessert wine, fine.

"Basically the story behind digestifs is that monks who wanted to keep their herbs fresh, preserved them in alcohol. Then they decided the alcohol tasted better than the preserved herbs. They were originally to aid digestion so the normal place to have them would be at the end of the meal."

He says a pub should list at least one cognac, one brandy and a rum – "you don't need to order in huge quantities". Gastro pubs are adding them on to dessert menus, says John, and men who might not particularly want a dessert will often go for a glass if they see a choice on the list.

"What restaurants fail to do is execute them properly. What they should do is match them with desserts or put the digestifs on the right hand side of menus with comments about them. For example the flavour profile of rum would go better with crème caramel than a normal wine," he recommends, adding that golden rum is one of the fastest growing drinks.

Explaining how they work to diners is the other half of the battle, he says, which means training staff. "Training is so important – why they are appropriate, and why you should have them. If people can't understand them, the staff needs to know. Diners will buy them if they are sold in the right way.

"With dessert wine, the temperature is key. Sometimes it isn't chilled enough or has hung around. If consumers have that experience, they won't want it again.

"Quite often it's an infectious thing – if one table has them, another table thinks it's a good idea. It's about the offering, merchandising and putting across the message. The customer won't think of a digestif so you have to think of it for them.

"For a drink that is usually found more around celebrations and Christmas, it's filtered down to more casual dining. People are now thinking it's a nice way to finish the meal."