digestif

A digestif is a drink that is drunk after the meal. Traditionaly it is in order to aid digestion, though certainly not all digestifs have this quality.

It is not so obvious what makes a drink a digestif, but generally, digestifs will be darker, as oppsed to aperitifs, which will be white (clear). However, this distinction is just a guideline. If you are unsure, the best bet will be based on that guideline. So vodka and Pernod would be better used as aperitifs, while port and brandy are usually digestifs. However, all Vermouths (dry, red, orange etc.) are aperitifs. And port is a digestif just about everywhere, excpet for in France, where it is an aperitif (so I've heard, at least) - what a strange bunch! So basically, it is impossible to actually describe the group of drinks that are digestifs.

Common degistifs:

The top three digestifs of all time are without a doubt:

• Brandy (especially Cognac or Armagnac)
• Sherry
• Port

Italians seem to like

• Grappa,

though for the life of me I can't figure out why. Other common digestifs are:

• Jägermeister - tastes like a good digestif, and actually helps with the heavy meal digestion, IMHO
• Fernet Branca - the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted in my life. Kick ass digestif, though.
• Any sweet liquor, such as creme de menthe, Kahlua, Irish Cream, etc. I personally do not think much of these as digestifs (except the Italian Basil Liquor, which kicks ass).
• Limoncello served frozen, naturally.

There are a myriad other drinks that can be digestifs. I'll just stick to my Calvados Boulard, thank you very much.