Orange Liqueur with Whisky

Orange Liqueur with Whisky by Piekfeine Brände from Bremen

Orange Liqueur with Whisky by Piekfeine Brände is an orange liqueur made from the macerated peels of fully ripe oranges, blended with their in-house VAN LOON Single Malt. At 40% vol, it is closer to a digestif than a dessert liqueur.

Orange Liqueur with Whisky is the bold orange liqueur from Piekfeine Brände in Bremen, crafted by Birgitta Schulze van Loon from orange peels and her own single malt. It comes in a 350 ml bottle at 40% vol, which is significantly higher than what is required for a liqueur.

Bitter peel meets warm cask wood

First comes the orange, not as juice, but as peel: ethereal, tart, with the scent you get on your hands when zesting a fruit.

Behind it, the whisky works, laying down notes of wood, malt, and a hint of smoke. The result is fruity, tart, and spicy all at once – a liqueur that leans toward the bar rather than the candy store.

The 40% vol is no accident here. With less alcohol, the bitterness of the peel would fall flat; this way, it remains upright and supports the whisky. Anyone familiar with classic orange liqueurs will notice the difference instantly.

By law, a liqueur only needs 15% vol, and many orange liqueurs stay close to that limit and are correspondingly sweet. Here, it is the other way around: the alcohol takes the lead, and the sugar stays in the background.

Neat, over ice, or in an Old Fashioned

Serve it at room temperature, because when cold, the orange peel closes up and the whisky remains silent.

After a meal, it stands on its own, and it naturally pairs well with dark chocolate and orange cake. In the bar, it replaces Curaçao where more depth is required: in an Old Fashioned, in a Sidecar, or in any drink where orange and whisky are meant to come together. The liqueur likes bitterness and goes well with Campari. A splash in an espresso tonic is also one of those things that works better than it sounds.

Poured over vanilla ice cream, it makes a very sophisticated dessert, and a spoonful in chocolate batter transforms any cake. If you are looking for the salty-sweet side of VAN LOON, you will find it in the Caramel Whisky Liqueur.

Why it is the peel and not the juice

The aroma of the orange resides almost entirely in the essential oils of the peel, not in the fruit pulp – which is why only the peels of fully ripe fruits are macerated in alcohol here.

Over several days, the alcohol cold-extracts the aroma and binds it, a process experts call maceration. The macerate is then distilled to create a high-proof, clear orange distillate. Only afterwards are sugar, water, and the VAN LOON added.

The detour through distillation is the reason why the liqueur remains clear rather than cloudy. A simple infusion of peels and sugar would be easier and cheaper, but it would taste tired after a few months – a distillate does not lose its freshness.

Working with one's own distillates instead of purchased alcohol, says Birgitta Schulze van Loon about her liqueur range – here, it is double, since both the orange distillate and the whisky are produced in-house. She has been distilling the single malt since 2015. You can find the entire range at Piekfeine Brände, and if you are looking for juniper instead of orange, try the Triple Peak Gin.