UPDATE: A clarification from my father about the Cloudberry liqueur in our house...
"I’ve never had the cloudberry liqueur in the freezer; it’s always been in the refrigerator. You may not remember the reason I had done this, but you are now learning the reason: It just tastes so good! Fortunately for me, I was the only one in the family who appreciated it and drank it all myself. By the way, you and no one else was aware that during the time you were growing up, although there was only one bottle in the refrigerator at any time, there was more than one bottle!"
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Tonight we had a great party at our house! Thanks, guests (you know who you are)! We went through five bottles of wine, half a bottle of Campari, and half a bottle of Cloudberry Liquer (Lakka in Finnish). Louise, as usual, was on the top of her game with Ziti, Chicken Parm, Chocolate Pie, and Lemon Sorbet, and the guests contributed fruit salad, chocolate-covered strawberries, and fun-fetti cookies! I know that I, at least, ate, and drank, way too much.
Anyway, more on the wines (and liqueur). I didn't get to try the white wines, so I can't really comment on them (its not fair to say how the pinot grigio, a 2008 Zenato della Venezie, contributed to my Campari cocktail). The Chardonnay was a Guenoc from Lake County I've been wanting to try, but, oh well.
The reds were all Italian, to go with the Ziti/Chicken Parm. We started with a 2007 Banfi Centine Rosso which is a blend of Cabernet, Sangiovese, and Merlot. It was a simple, but tasty wine, and a great value. Then we moved on to my house Tuscan, the 2006 Monte Antico Rosso that I've mentioned before. Really a wonderful little wine to pair with Italian food. (Notice that I'm not going into great detail. Like I said, I had a fair amount to drink....) Finally, we finished up with a 2005 Santa Martina Toscana which was a dryer, but wonderful way to finish the evening of red wine (it went great with the Chocolate Pie).
Now, the cap on the evening was the Cloudberry Liqueur. Cloudberries are a high altitude berry native (at least to my knowledge) to Scandinavia. Once, when in Trondheim, Norway, I had a wonderful Cloudberry parfait at the house of a host family (the parents of one of my former students) - they had picked the berries themselves near their Stugga in the mountains of Norway. My dad also, for some reason I can't remember, always had an old bottle of Cloudberry Liqueur stashed away in his freezer. Anyway, the last time I was in Sweden I came back with a couple of bottles of Lakka made by Lapponia in Finland (as well as some Linie Aquavit, which is another story). Tonight I chilled it and then pulled it out as a "digestif." It was WONDERFUL. Around the table I heard talk of walnuts, vanilla, brown sugar, and most everyone seemed to enjoy it. It was a great way to end the meal, and I snuck myself a second small glass. Some "dessert" liqueurs can be overly sweet and unenjoyable, but this had just the right balance of sugar and alcohol. I will drink this again, and buy more the next time I am in Sweden....hmmm...I am, nominally, Clarkson's liason to the business school at Jonkoping University....I'll have to make some arrangements!
