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>>> Interestingly, blackcurrant is almost exclusively a European thing (99%+ of production). It's a UK thing as far as I am aware. Never seen it in any quantit

>>> Interestingly, blackcurrant is almost exclusively a European thing (99%+ of production). It's a UK thing as far as I am aware. Never seen it in any quantity outside of the UK.

agurk 6y ago
It's definitely common in Denmark. France has crème de cassis[0] and produces 16 million litres annually of the stuff. In Germany and Eastern Europe I've seen it commonly sold as fruit juice and I've certainly drank a lot of (Schwarze) Johannisbeereschorle - blackcurrent juice mixed with sparkling water - in Munich. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A8me_de_cassis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A8me_de_cassis
- user5994461 6y ago
  I am French so there you go ^^ Creme de cassis is a strong liquor. It's quite expensive due to being alcohol (alcohol taxes and regulations) and generally being a luxury mixer at that. It's never drinked alone. It is not drinkable, it's very strong and it has a thick consistency akin to a smoothie. (You could try a sip but you're definitely not going to down a glass of that). Main use is a mixer for cocktails. The most common is "kir". Put a bit of creme de cassis at the bottom of the glass and fill the rest with a white wine. The fancy version is the "kir royale", using champagne in place of white wine.
vidarh 6y ago
It's more common in the UK than elsewhere, but I grew up with blackcurrant as one of the most common types of squash/cordial in Norway as well, with a wide range of brands - to extent that blackcurrant is the expected taste of red squash if nothing else is specified. I know it is also widespread in Denmark as well. It may well be uncommon in parts of Europe too, but not to the extent of particularly the US where most states banned it for nearly a century because it contributed as a reservoir to diseases that threatened white pine, which made it uncommon enough that most Americans have never tasted it.

>>> Interestingly, blackcurrant is almost exclusively a European thing (99%+ of production). It's a UK thing as far as I am aware. Never seen it in any quantity outside of the UK.

agurk 6y ago

It's definitely common in Denmark. France has crème de cassis[0] and produces 16 million litres annually of the stuff. In Germany and Eastern Europe I've seen it commonly sold as fruit juice and I've certainly drank a lot of (Schwarze) Johannisbeereschorle - blackcurrent juice mixed with sparkling water - in Munich. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A8me_de_cassis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A8me_de_cassis

user5994461 6y ago
I am French so there you go ^^ Creme de cassis is a strong liquor. It's quite expensive due to being alcohol (alcohol taxes and regulations) and generally being a luxury mixer at that. It's never drinked alone. It is not drinkable, it's very strong and it has a thick consistency akin to a smoothie. (You could try a sip but you're definitely not going to down a glass of that). Main use is a mixer for cocktails. The most common is "kir". Put a bit of creme de cassis at the bottom of the glass and fill the rest with a white wine. The fancy version is the "kir royale", using champagne in place of white wine.

vidarh 6y ago

It's more common in the UK than elsewhere, but I grew up with blackcurrant as one of the most common types of squash/cordial in Norway as well, with a wide range of brands - to extent that blackcurrant is the expected taste of red squash if nothing else is specified. I know it is also widespread in Denmark as well. It may well be uncommon in parts of Europe too, but not to the extent of particularly the US where most states banned it for nearly a century because it contributed as a reservoir to diseases that threatened white pine, which made it uncommon enough that most Americans have never tasted it.