Advocaat

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This article is about a liqueur. For the Scandinavian professional title for lawyers, see Advokat. For the Dutch football manager, see Dick Advocaat.
Advocaat

Advocaat or advocatenborrel is a traditional Dutch alcoholic beverage made from eggs, sugar and brandy.[1] The rich and creamy drink has a smooth, custard-like flavor and is similar to eggnog. The typical alcohol content is generally somewhere between 14% and 20% ABV. Its contents may be a blend of egg yolks, aromatic spirits, sugar or honey, brandy, vanilla and sometimes cream (or evaporated milk). Notable makers of advocaat include Bols, DeKuyper and Verpoorten.

Etymology[edit]

Advocaat is the Dutch word for "lawyer". As the name of the drink, it is short for advocatenborrel, or "lawyer's drink", where borrel is Dutch for a shot of an alcoholic beverage. According to the 1882 edition of the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal (Dictionary of the Dutch Language), it is "zoo genoemd als een goed smeersel voor de keel, en dus bijzonder dienstig geacht voor een advocaat, die in 't openbaar het woord moet voeren" ("so named as a good lubricant for the throat, and thus considered especially useful for a lawyer, who must speak in public."[2]

Types and uses[edit]

A bottle of advocaat

Thick advocaat is sold mainly on the Dutch and Belgian market, though in lesser quantities it can also be found in German and Austrian markets. It is often eaten with a little spoon, while a more liquid version is sold as an export. Thick advocaat contains egg yolks, and is used as a waffle or poffertjes topping and as an ingredient for several kinds of desserts such as ice cream, custards and pastries. It is also served as an apéritif or digestif in a wide glass with whipped cream and cocoa powder sprinkled on top.

In the export variety whole eggs are used. The best known cocktail using advocaat is the Snowball: a mixture of advocaat, sparkling lemonade and sometimes lime juice, (although this is not required for the drink) that is often consumed near Christmas. Another is the Fluffy duck, made with rum. Another advocaat-based beverage is the Bombardino, a drink commonly found in Italian ski resorts, particularly the Italian Alps, made by mixing advocaat, brandy, and whipped cream.[3]

Related drinks[edit]

The Polish equivalent called ajerkoniak (de: Eier—eggs; fr: Cognac) is based on vodka instead of brandy, despite what the name may suggest.

Rompope of Mexico, and Sabajón of Colombia are very similar liquors based on egg yolk and vanilla. Some varieties have additional flavourings.

In popular culture[edit]

  • Mr. Grady spills glasses of Advocaat on Jack Torrance in The Shining.
  • On the British TV show Call The Midwife, characters drink Advocaat and mix Snowball cocktails.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Rinsky, Laura Halpin; Glenn Rinsky (2009). The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. p. 3. ISBN 0-470-00955-1. OCLC 173182689. 
  2. ^ M. De Vries and L. A. Te Winkel (1882). Woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal. 1. M. Nijhoff, A.W. Sijthoff, Henri J. Stemberg. p. 827. 
  3. ^ "Bombardino-Calimero". 12 Bottle Bar. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2012. 

External links[edit]

  • Media related to Advocaat at Wikimedia Commons