Word of the Day -- Digestif

A digestif is an alcoholic beverage served after a meal, in theory to aid digestion. When served after a coffee course, it may be called pousse-café   Digestifs are usually taken straight. Common kinds of digestif include:

• Brandy (Cognac, Armagnac, alembic-made)
  • Eaux de vie (fruit brandies, Schnapps, Calvados)
  • Pomace brandy (grappa)
• Fortified wines (sherry (usually cream sherry), vermouth, port, and madeira)
• Liqueurs bitter or sweet (drambuie, amari (such as fernet), herbal liqueur, chartreuse, Grand Marnier, Irish Mist, Kahlua, limoncello, Herbs de Majorca, Unicum)
• Distilled liquors (ouzo, tequila, whisky or akvavit)
• Liquor cocktails (Black Russian, Rusty Nail, etc.)

In certain areas, it is not uncommon for a digestif to be taken before a main course. One example is le trou Normand, a glass of Calvados taken before the main course of a meal.

Bitter digestifs typically contain carminative herbs, which are thought to aid digestion.  In many countries, people drink alcoholic beverages at lunch and dinner. Studies have found that when food is eaten before drinking alcohol, alcohol absorption is reduced and the rate at which alcohol is eliminated from the blood is increased. The mechanism for the faster alcohol elimination appears to be unrelated to the type of food. The likely mechanism is food-induced increases in alcohol-metabolizing enzymes and liver blood flow.