View source for Parfait d'amour

{{Short description|Purple liqueur from France}}
{{Use list-defined references|date=March 2025}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2013}}
{{Infobox Beverage
|name=Parfait d'amour
|image=
|type=[[Liqueur]]
|manufacturer=(various)
|origin=France
|introduced=19th century
|colour=Purple
|flavour=
}}

'''Parfait d'amour''' ({{IPA|fr|paʁfe d‿amuːʁ|pron}}), or '''parfait amour''',<ref name="Wright2011"/> is a [[liqueur]]. It is often used in cocktails primarily for its purple colour,{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} and is generally created from a [[curaçao liqueur]] base.

There are several versions of parfait d'amour. The House of [[Lucas Bols]] in the [[Netherlands]] claims to have originated the liqueur. Theirs appears to be a curaçao base, flavoured with [[rose]] petals, [[vanilla]] and [[almonds]].{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} [[Marie Brizard]], a [[Bordeaux]]-based distiller, has a product{{which|date=June 2020}} with a similar flavor profile.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Another form, produced by [[DeKuyper]], uses a spirit as its base, and is flavoured with lemon, coriander and [[Violet (plant)|violets]].<ref name="Bowden1978"/>

''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' writer John Wright describes it as "a potent compound... It tasted like the perfume counter at [[Boots (company)|Boots]]."<ref name="Wright2011"/> He suggests a homemade version containing rose petals in a base of white rum or [[eau de vie]], with the addition of syrups made from raspberry juice and [[rosehip]]s.<ref name="Wright2011"/>

==Availability==
Parfait d'amour is primarily produced and sold in [[France]] and [[the Netherlands]],{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} although it is available in [[the United Kingdom]], [[Spain]], [[the United States]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[Greece]], [[Sweden]], [[Denmark]], [[Finland]],<ref name="Alko"/> [[Iceland]], and [[Norway]].{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

==References in literature==
In the memoirs of [[Eugène François Vidocq]], the character Belle-Rose disparages parfait d'amour: "... they poured out some parfait amour; 'This is drinkable,' said he, 'but still it is not even small beer in comparison with the liqueurs of the celebrated madame Anfous.{{' "}}<ref name="Vidocq1834"/><ref name="fn1"/>

In her 1855 novel ''[[Ruth Hall (novel)|Ruth Hall]]'', [[Fanny Fern]] describes it as a drink popular among society women: "the disgusting spectacle of scores of ladies devouring, ''ad infinitum'', brandy-drops, Roman punch, Charlotte Russe, pies, cakes, and ices; and sipping 'parfait amour.{{' "}}<ref name="Fern1855"/>

In [[John Brunner (author)|John Brunner]]'s ''[[The Squares of the City|The Squares of the City]]'' a minor character drinks Parfait Amour, which is described as a sweet purple liqueur that looked like methylated spirits.

''[[Inside Story (novel)|Inside Story]]'' the late autobiography of [[Martin Amis]], tells how parfait amour was an alcoholic drink a past girlfriend, an otherwise non-drinker, might be persuaded to take.

==Cocktail with parfait d'amour==
[[Takumi's Aviation]] is a modern classic cocktail made with [[gin]], [[maraschino]] liqueur, parfait d'amour, and lemon juice.

'''Taylor-Burton Affair''' is made with Sipsmith gin infused with butterfly pea tea, lemon juice, gomme syrup, parfait amour liqueur.<ref name="lygonarmshotel"/>

==References==
<references>
<ref name="Bowden1978">{{cite book |author=B. N. Bowden |chapter=Violaceae |editor=V. H. Heywood |title=Flowering Plants of the World |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1978 |isbn=0-19-217674-9}}</ref>

<ref name="Fern1855">{{cite book |title=Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time |page=157 |author=Fanny Fern |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40814 |accessdate=2020-06-25}}</ref>

<ref name="Alko">{{Cite web |title=Bols Parfait Amour |publisher=Alko |access-date=17 March 2025 |url= https://www.alko.fi/tuotteet/180096/Bols-Parfait-Amour/ |language=fi }}</ref>

<ref name="fn1">The name "Anfous" here is a misspelling of "Anfoux," referring to a widow from [[Martinique]], later of the [[Rue Montmartre]] in Paris, renowned for her liqueurs.</ref>

<ref name="Vidocq1834">{{cite book |title=Memoirs of Vidocq |author=Eugène François Vidocq |author-link=Eugène François Vidocq |publisher=Carey, Hart & Co. |location=Baltimore |year=1834 |page=132 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-JNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA132}}</ref>

<ref name="Wright2011">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/jun/15/how-to-make-parfait-amour|title=How to make parfait amour |author=John Wright|newspaper=The Guardian |date=15 June 2011|accessdate=2 August 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="lygonarmshotel">{{Cite web |last=Lygon Arms hotel |date=August 2023 |title=Lygon Arms Cocktails |url=https://www.lygonarmshotel.co.uk/media/xgcdeoxq/the-lygon-arms-jm-cocktails-drinks-menu-2023-august-web-1.pdf |access-date=25 September 2023 |page=11}}</ref>
</references>

==External links==
* [http://www.dekuyperliqueurs.com/# "The DeKuyper website"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929001453/http://www.bolscocktails.com/bols-liqueur-range-detail.asp?ingredient_id=30 "Parfait Amour"] in the Bols website.
* [http://www.cartron.fr/# "The Joseph Cartron website"]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parfait d'amour}}
[[Category:Liqueurs]]
[[Category:Dutch liqueurs]]
[[Category:French liqueurs]]