🥃 Chambord

Chambord is a French berry liqueur of 16.5% ABV, modelled on a liqueur that, according to legend, was served to Louis XIV in the 17th century. The modern version was launched in the early 1980s, and since 2006 the brand has belonged to the American company Brown-Forman. The drink is made in the Loire Valley, and the bottle is round like an orb.

According to Difford's Guide, the composition is as follows: raspberries and blackberries infused in neutral spirit, plus Madagascan vanilla, Moroccan citrus peel, honey and cognac. Sources disagree about the berries: Brown-Forman names blackberries, raspberries and blackcurrants. So we do not fix the exact berry composition, only that the liqueur is berry-based. Difford's Guide gives the production site as the Château de La Sistière in the Loire Valley, while retail catalogues list Cour-Cheverny; so we do not specify the place of production within the Loire.

The modern version was found in France by the American Norton "Sky" Cooper, son of Maurice Cooper, owner of the Charles Jacquin et Cie distillery. He bought the brand and the recipe and launched the liqueur in 1981 as Chambord Liqueur Royale de France; according to other data the start was 1982, so the exact year is disputed. In 2006 Brown-Forman bought the brand from the Cooper family.

The round bottle was first used for another product of the family, Forbidden Fruit. From 1984 to 2010 it had a gold plastic cage, which bartenders often removed. After the purchase, Brown-Forman changed the design: it removed the cage and the crown, and made the shape less spherical.

Why this matters to you. Chambord is a 16.5% ABV liqueur, not berry juice or syrup. It contains cognac, so it is not a fully non-alcoholic berry base. Check the volume and the strength on the label. The WHO reminds us: there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.