Crème de cacao is a sweet chocolate liqueur, and for a century it has been the reason the Alexander, the Grasshopper and the Golden Cadillac exist. It comes in white and dark, the two are not interchangeable, and the difference between a good bottle and a bad one is the difference between chocolate and brown sugar water.

What is crème de cacao?

A liqueur flavoured with cacao beans, often with vanilla, and sweetened heavily. "Crème" means nothing to do with cream — in French liqueur naming it signals a high sugar content, as in crème de menthe and crème de cassis. There is no dairy in it.

It comes in two forms. White (blanc) crème de cacao is clear and is what most classic recipes mean, because it does not colour the drink. Dark (brun) is coloured, either from the beans themselves or with caramel, and tends to taste a little deeper and more roasted. Strengths run from 20 to 25% ABV for everyday brands up to around 30% for the better ones.

How it's made

The good versions start with roasted cacao nibs steeped in neutral spirit, or distilled with it, and sometimes a second infusion of vanilla. The spirit is sweetened with sugar syrup and, for white, filtered clear; for dark, left with the colour or adjusted with caramel. Percolation — passing spirit repeatedly through a bed of nibs — is the traditional method and gives the most chocolate flavour.

The bad versions are neutral spirit, sugar, and "natural and artificial flavours". There is a lot of this on the bottom shelf and it is why crème de cacao has a reputation for tasting like nothing in particular.

What it tastes like

At its best: cocoa powder, milk chocolate, a little vanilla, a faint bitterness from the roasted bean, and sweetness that is pronounced but not cloying. Dark bottles lean to dark chocolate and sometimes a coffee note. Cheap bottles taste of sugar with a chocolate-flavoured aroma that disappears once there is anything else in the glass.

Styles worth knowing

Style	What changes	In a drink
White, premium (24–30%)	Real cacao, clear	Alexander, Grasshopper, Golden Cadillac, Twentieth Century
Dark, premium	Deeper, roasted, coloured	Chocolate Negroni, stirred whiskey drinks, an Alexander with brandy
Everyday white or dark (20%)	Sweeter, thinner	Works in cream drinks; lost in spirit-forward ones
Chocolate liqueur (not "crème de cacao")	Often cream-based or thicker; a different product	Do not substitute without tasting

Which bottle to buy

Buy a premium white crème de cacao first. It covers the most recipes, and because it is clear the quality shows in flavour rather than colour. A good dark one is the second purchase if you make stirred chocolate drinks. Paying more here matters more than for almost any other liqueur: the inexpensive bottles are not a smaller version of the good ones, they are a different and worse product.

Check that the label says cacao, not "chocolate flavoured", and look for 24% or above.

Using it in drinks

Three families. Cream drinks: the Alexander (gin or brandy, crème de cacao, cream), the Grasshopper (with green crème de menthe) and the Golden Cadillac (with Galliano) all want white. Spirit-forward drinks: the Chocolate Negroni swaps part of the vermouth for dark crème de cacao; a quarter-ounce in an Old Fashioned or Manhattan works the same trick. Sours: the Twentieth Century — gin, Lillet, white crème de cacao, lemon — is the proof that chocolate and citrus get on.

It is sweet, so when you add it to a recipe, take out sugar somewhere else. A quarter to half an ounce is usually enough to be tasted.

Substitutes

A chocolate liqueur of similar strength works if it is not cream-based; taste it for sugar first. Chocolate bitters plus a little simple syrup gives the flavour without the body — fine in stirred drinks, not in an Alexander. Dark for white and vice versa is acceptable in anything that is not meant to be pale. Cocoa powder does not dissolve in spirit and should not be tried.

Storage

Cool, dark, tightly closed. The sugar keeps it stable for a year or more after opening, though the chocolate aroma fades slowly. If it starts to taste only of sugar, it is time for a new bottle. No need to refrigerate.

Questions

Does crème de cacao contain cream? No. "Crème" refers to the sugar level. It is clear (white) or brown (dark) and contains no dairy.

White or dark for an Alexander? White, traditionally, so the drink stays pale. Dark with brandy makes a perfectly good variation.

Is it the same as chocolate liqueur? Not necessarily. Many chocolate liqueurs are cream-based or much thicker. Crème de cacao is a clear or brown spirit-based liqueur.

How strong is it? Usually 20 to 30% ABV — a little stronger than most cream liqueurs, well below spirit strength.