Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/133302
LAUNCH PAD The Color Purple IT'S BACK TO THE FUTURE FOR CRÈME YVETTE by Richard Carleton Hacker / photos by Daniel Krieger I f Robert (Rob) Cooper, President of The Cooper Spirits Company, hadn't discovered the recipe for a purple-hued Victorian liqueur called Crème Yvette on a flimsy piece of carbon copy paper a few years ago, today's mixologists would not have been able to authentically recreate classic cocktails such as the Stratosphere, Blue Moon, and Perpetual. But then, Cooper, a thirdgeneration distiller and the man who brought us San Francisco World Spirits Competition Double Gold Medal winner St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur, is no stranger to artisanal spirits. His grandfather was a preProhibition brewer; his father, Norton "Sky" Cooper developed Chambord; and his brother, John, created Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur, another SFWSC Double Gold medal winner. And now, after its initial introduction in 2009, Crème Yvette is being re-launched at a price decidedly more accessible to the home cocktail enthusiast (SRP $35) and a new historical, French-themed on-premise marketing campaign. Crème Yvette was created in 1890 by the Sheffield Company of Connecticut, and the violets in its recipe were a reflection of 90 / the tasting panel / june 2013 TP0613_080-119.indd 90 5/23/13 5:30 PM