Applications of natural ingredients in alcoholic drinks - Natural Food Additives, Ingredients and Flavourings - page 379

Fig. 16.8 Possible procedure for the manufacture of modern green absinthe.

and Pb. Certain artifi cial colourants are allowed for some liqueurs (e.g. tartrazine
in Galliano). Labelling requirements for foodstuffs containing caramel include
statements such as 'Caramel color' (US), 'Colour: E150c' (EU) and 'Food colour
150c' (South Africa). See Section 16.6 for further comment.
Fruit and their concentrates or extracts are used to fl avour many cocktails/
FABs, some versions of vodka and rum, and fruit liqueurs (Table 16.10).
Concentrates are made by vacuum distillation of fruit to about 65° Brix and
powders are made by freeze-drying/vacuum-drying of juice. Extracts (essences)

Table 16.11 Types of caramel used in spirits and some other alcoholic beverages

Category, with EU number 1 Applications, with examples

E150a. Category I: plain caramel, can be
made using acid, alkali or salts but
without ammonia or sulphite. Colour
intensity: 0.01-0.12

Generally used in spirits; brandy, rum,
whisky, e.g. DDWilliamson liquid 570

E150b. Category II: caustic sulfi te caramel
- as above, but made with sulphite, but not
ammonia. Colour intensity: 0.05-0.13

Generally used in spirits (e.g. brandy) and
fortifi ed wine (including vermouth). Often
known as French caramel

￿ ￿ ￿ ￿ ￿

E150c. Category III: ammonia caramel.
As E150a, but made using ammonia but
not sulphite. Colour intensity: 0.08-0.36

Used extensively as beer colorant, e.g.
DDWilliamson liquid 301, liquid 385
(darkest beer stable liquid), liquid 641

E150d. Category IV: sulphite ammonia
caramel. As E150a, but made with both
ammonia and sulphite. Colour intensity:
0.10-0.60

The darkest caramel: general use, e.g.
DDWilliamson liquid 305, powder 605

Notes:
1 All must conform to certain specifi cations regarding colour intensity (defi ned as the absorbance of
a 0.1% (w:v) solution in de-ionised water measured in a 10 mm cell at 610 nm wavelength), total N,
total S, As (< 1mg/kg), Cd (< 1 (mg/kg), heavy metals (<25 mg/kg, as Pb), Hg (<1 mg/kg), Pb (<2
mg/kg). Category I caramels tend to be cane sucrose-based, whereas most other caramels tend to be
cereal starch hydrolysate-based (especially corn syrup).