Clear Creek Cassis Liqueur

A wonderful Portland restaurant once suggested that we make a liqueur similar to what the French call Creme de Cassis from Oregon blackcurrants. Of course we had to do it, and the result is truly wonderful: an intensely tart, lightly sweet, slightly earthy liqueur with huge fruit flavor. Our blackcurrants come from a farm less than half an hour from the distillery. They arrive at the distillery still warm from the sun, with their woody little tops still attached, and are immediately dumped into our clear, un-aged brandy. After months of maceration, the solids are pressed off, and some sugar is added. Put a splash of Cassis Liqueur in your bubbly and you're immediately transported to the Parisian cafes that made classic Kir and Kir Royale (cassis in white wine or champagne, respectively) so popular.