Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur

Welcome Mixology Monday Folks! Mixology Monday is an online event I always look forward to as a reader and now hope to contribute to as a blogger. The only problem is that reviewing a cream liqueur is a bit difficult; there just isn’t that much diversity in the cream liqueur section of your local booze shop. Some notable exceptions outside of Baileys and other Irish creams include Amarula and Dooley’s; however, a relatively lesser known competitor released in 2005 called Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur is trying to find room on the shelves. Attempting to capitalize on popular flavors trends is a common strategy for many spirit producers, but can this approach work in a cream liqueur?

To evaluate Voyant, I used Baileys as a benchmark and tasted the two together. One of the basic differences between Baileys and Voyant is that Baileys is made from a base of Irish Whiskey; Voyant is made from “aged Virgin Island rum”. This differentiation makes Voyant slightly sweeter than the Irish cream, but the rum is much more noticeable in Voyant than the whiskey is in Baileys. Consequently, the rum is present in the initial taste as well but is quickly over taken by the Chai and cream elements. Voyant is also thinner than Baileys and slightly darker. Otherwise, Voyant is basically a traditional cream liqueur with a Chai twist. Voyant is sweeter than I would like it to be, but overall, it is at the very least an interesting product that can pinch-hit for Baileys if needed and shake things up a bit.

Cream liqueur drinks seem to be the weirder part of the cocktail family that nobody really wants to invite to the reunion at the bar. I mean those Nutty Irishmen seem to always cause trouble when consumed in excess. Nevertheless, Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur (there’s a child with an identity crisis) might just help to make some meager contributions to the liqueurs group which might win them some modest acceptance in the cocktail family. Here’s a couple of Voyant variations. They aren’t the classic cocktails that I love and blog about frequently, but hey, it’s a cream liqueur theme.

The Nutty Chairishman

1 oz Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur
1 oz Frangelico
Nutmeg for Garnish

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass and dust some freshly grated nutmeg on top.

Also try this one:

The Chasian Orgasm

1 oz Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur
1 oz Kahluha
1 oz Amaretto
Cinnamon Stick for Garnish.

Shake and strain into an old fashioned glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

I really like the spiced notes of Voyant and found it to work well with Captain Morgans rum. I like to drink the following:

Captain’s Chai Tea

2 oz Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur
1 oz Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
½ oz Cream
Shake and strain into an old fashioned glass filled with ice.

If you would like to check out some other recipes that use Voyant, you can visit their website. BEWARE! Most of the cocktails are just simple twists on other Irish cream cocktails, but they did get too creative with some drinks, most notably, this one:

Long Island Chai Iced Tea

Glassware: Sling
Method: Shake all ingredients except cola with ice and strain into a an ice filled glass, then top off with cola, stir and garnish with a cherry.
Ingredients: 1 part of rum, vodka, gin, triple sec, tequila, and 2.5 parts Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur with splash of cola.

This was one of the worst drinks I have ever had. I had to struggle to not vomit and decided to call it a Voyant night. For the record, I knew this was going to be bad going in; I was just too curious for my own good and had to know just how awful it could be. I could have never imagined the result. Despite this retched experience, I think that if you get a chance to try Voyant, you should give it a whirl.

Thanks for visiting me here at Drink Dogma. Please make sure to look around a bit and send me an e-mail or leave a comment. I am a big fan of all the other cocktail bloggers out there as you can tell from my blog list on this page, so make sure to explore their sites as well. I love talking to people about bartending, spirits, and cocktails and look forward to hearing from you. Now head over to Morsels and Musings to see what other creamy creations are out there.

 

Additional Note: Robert B. Back, the creator of Voyant contacted me recently and was extremely willing to discuss his product with me. I wanted to say thanks to Robert for his outgoing efforts and post some of his favorite Voyant cocktails. I haven’t tried any of these, but since I was slightly critical of the cocktails on the Voyant website, I figured I would post some that he believes feature Voyant well. Here they are:

V-56 FLOAT

Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur
Jagermeister
Coke or Root Beer

In a tall soda glass filled with ice, add in equal parts Voyant and Jagermeister and then top off with Coke (or Root Beer).Use a spoon to mix well and then top off with 1-scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. Serve with a straw and enjoy.

CHOCOLATE CHARLIE’S

3 oz Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur
1 oz Milk Chocolate Syrup

Add Chocolate Syrup to bottom of brandy snifter and roll snifter to coat bottom of glass. Add in Milk and then Voyant and steam in glassware until warm. Froth the beverage and garnish with shaved chocolate (or chocolate sprinkles) and whipped cream.