🥃 Marula Cream Liqueur

Marula cream liqueur is a South African liqueur based on a distillate of marula tree fruit, blended with cream and sugar. The best-known example is Amarula: according to Difford's Guide, its distillate is aged for two years in oak barrels, and the finished liqueur is 17% ABV.

Raw material. Marula (Sclerocarya birrea) is a wild tree of Africa south of the Sahara; only female trees bear fruit. According to South Africa's tourism authority, the harvest is picked by hand from late January to March, and one tree yields between 500 kg and two tonnes of fruit. The fruit is mostly collected by rural communities around Phalaborwa in Limpopo province.

How it is made. The fruit is crushed, the pulp is separated from the skin and fermented, much like grapes for wine. The fruit wine is distilled twice — Difford's Guide mentions copper pot stills — and aged in small oak barrels for about two years. Only then is the distillate blended with fresh cream and sugar.

History. Amarula's cream version was first released in 1989; today it is sold in more than 100 countries. The elephant on the label is a reminder that elephants eagerly eat marula fruit. The story of "drunk elephants" from fermented marula, however, is a myth, according to South Africa's tourism authority. The brand supports elephant research through the Amarula Trust.

Why this matters to you. The EU has no separate category for "cream liqueur", so such a drink is sold as a liqueur — from 15% ABV; the only protected name is Irish Cream from Ireland. The liqueur contains milk, which matters for milk protein allergy or lactose intolerance. The WHO reminds us that no level of alcohol consumption is safe.