Liqueurs

Falernum

Falernum is a Barbadian sweetener tasting of lime zest, clove and ginger, usually with almond, sold either as a rum-based bottle such as Velvet Falernum, 11% ABV on LWC’s UK listing, or as a non-alcoholic syrup. The trade calls the 11% bottle a liqueur, though Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 sets 15% as the minimum for a liqueur. In a rum drink it brings sugar, citrus and spice in a single pour, usually 7.5 to 15ml.

Quick Facts

ABV11% ABVNon-alcoholic falernum syrups are also sold.

Legal categoryTraded as a liqueur, but at 11% it is under the 15% minimum that Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 sets for a liqueur or any spirit drink

OriginBarbados

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

SeasonYear-round (Most popular in spring and summer)

Our keeping timeThe 11% bottle, opened: about six months refrigerated. Home-made syrup: one week refrigerated.

Storage

We store unopened bottles upright in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and, once opened, reseal them tightly and keep them in the fridge.

Allergens

Contains: tree nuts. LWC’s UK listing for Velvet Falernum names almonds, and the house syrup contains them; some bought syrups do not, so check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Falernum

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

LimeGingerAlmondCloveSweet spice

Tasting Notes

Lime zest on the nose, clove and ginger warmth in the middle and a soft almond finish, sweet but with a dry spice edge.

Two products go by the name

Velvet Falernum, from John D. Taylor’s and now produced by R.L. Seale in Barbados, its US importer says, is 11% ABV, lime laced with cane syrup and botanicals including almonds and cloves. Bought syrups carry the same flavours with no alcohol and, in our experience, more sweetness. Recipes seldom say which they mean. Ours assume the 11% bottle when they count units, and the Corn n’ Oil gives a smaller pour for the syrup because it is sweeter.

At 11% it falls short of a liqueur in law

GB law, the retained EU spirit drinks regulation, sets 15% ABV as the minimum for a liqueur and for any spirit drink, and a liqueur also needs at least 100g of sugar a litre. Velvet Falernum is traded as a liqueur, yet at 11% it is legally neither: a rum-based alcoholic drink with a falernum flavour. Nothing changes in the glass; the point matters when reading a label or adding up units.

Falernum against the tiki bottles it is confused with (Velvet Falernum from LWC’s UK listing; the allspice dram from The Bitter Truth’s own page; the house rows, keeping times and measures are ours)

Velvet Falernum

Strength: 11% ABV
Main flavours: Lime, clove, almond
Almond: Yes, per its UK listing
Keeps once open: About six months, refrigerated
Measure in our drinks: 7.5 to 15ml

House falernum syrup

Strength: None
Main flavours: Lime, clove, ginger, almond
Almond: Yes
Keeps once open: One week, refrigerated
Measure in our drinks: 10 to 15ml

Bought falernum syrup

Strength: None
Main flavours: Lime, clove, ginger
Almond: Varies: check the bottle
Keeps once open: As the label says
Measure in our drinks: 10 to 15ml

Orgeat

Strength: None
Main flavours: Almond, orange flower
Almond: Yes, when made from almonds
Keeps once open: One week home-made
Measure in our drinks: 12.5 to 30ml

Allspice dram

Strength: 22% ABV (The Bitter Truth)
Main flavours: Allspice berry
Almond: None declared by The Bitter Truth
Keeps once open: A year or more
Measure in our drinks: 7.5ml

Bottle	Strength	Main flavours	Almond	Keeps once open	Measure in our drinks
Velvet Falernum	11% ABV	Lime, clove, almond	Yes, per its UK listing	About six months, refrigerated	7.5 to 15ml
House falernum syrup	None	Lime, clove, ginger, almond	Yes	One week, refrigerated	10 to 15ml
Bought falernum syrup	None	Lime, clove, ginger	Varies: check the bottle	As the label says	10 to 15ml
Orgeat	None	Almond, orange flower	Yes, when made from almonds	One week home-made	12.5 to 30ml
Allspice dram	22% ABV (The Bitter Truth)	Allspice berry	None declared by The Bitter Truth	A year or more	7.5ml

The house recipe is a steeped syrup that lasts a week

Ours is the alcohol-free kind: a 2:1 sugar syrup steeped overnight with lime zest, cloves, fresh ginger and toasted almonds, then strained through muslin. It keeps one week chilled, our rule for infused syrups. Leave the almonds out and it is nut-free and still recognisably falernum, with a thinner finish.

Our recipes use it as sweetener and spice together

In the Nuclear Daiquiri it is the only sugar, 10ml against overproof rum, green Chartreuse and lime. The Zombie and the Jet Pilot take 15ml among three rums, and the Three Dots and a Dash pairs 7.5ml with an equal pour of allspice dram, which brings the berry spice falernum lacks.

Using it

Using Falernum

Usage

Measured at 7.5 to 15ml as a sweetener that also seasons. It is the only sugar in the Nuclear Daiquiri, and in the Zombie and the Jet Pilot it sits among three rums. Where a drink uses it, the plain syrup is usually cut or left out.

House Recipe

Ratio2:1 sugar syrup by weight, steeped with lime, clove, ginger and almond

MakesAbout 450ml

Our keeping timeOne week refrigerated

Ingredients

400g caster sugar
200g water (200ml)
Zest of 4 limes, peeled without the pith
20 cloves, lightly crushed
30g fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
30g flaked almonds, toasted

Method

Toast the almonds in a dry pan until golden, and let them cool.
Warm the water, dissolve the sugar in it, then take it off the heat.
Add the zest, cloves, ginger and almonds, cover and leave until cool.
Refrigerate overnight, then strain through muslin, bottle and label with the date.

Food safety

Contains almonds, a tree nut: say so to anyone you serve it to, or leave them out. Keep it refrigerated; a cloudy, fizzing or sour-smelling bottle is finished.

Pro Tip

Treat falernum as part of the sweet side of the drink. When a recipe adds it to a sour, take the same measure out of the sugar syrup first, then taste.

Top Tips

Read the label for strength. The 11% bottle and a falernum syrup taste alike and behave differently in the units count and in sweetness.
Pour a syrup falernum a little short of the measure given for the 11% bottle; the Corn n’ Oil drops from 15ml to 10ml.
Tell guests about the almond. LWC’s UK listing names it in Velvet Falernum, and the house syrup contains it.
Date the home-made bottle. A week in the fridge is its life.

Possible Substitutions

Allspice Dram: Spicier, less citrus

Production Method

Velvet Falernum is a rum-based liqueur, its US importer says, of lime laced with cane syrup and botanicals including almonds and cloves, by LWC’s UK listing. Bought syrups use a sugar syrup in place of the rum, steeped with similar flavourings.

History & Context

Difford’s Guide says falernum is believed to date back to 1700s Barbados, made at sugar-estate distilleries, and that early recipes are thought to have been little more than rum, sugar and lime juice, a punch. The Oxford Companion says Barbadian rum traders in the early twentieth century often bottled their own falernum alongside their rums. LWC’s UK listing says John D. Taylor of Bridgetown first created Velvet Falernum in 1890. The name has no settled origin: Difford’s says it perhaps comes from falernian, the ancient Roman wine, and gives a Barbadian folk story that derives it from “you have fuh learn um”, which it traces to a New York Times article of 14 April 1982.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is falernum?

A Caribbean sweetener from Barbados, flavoured with lime zest, clove, ginger and usually almond. It comes either as a low-strength rum-based bottle, such as Velvet Falernum, 11% on LWC’s UK listing, or as a non-alcoholic syrup. Tiki recipes use it to add sweetness and spice at once.

Is Velvet Falernum a liqueur?

It is sold as one, but Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, retained in GB, requires at least 15% ABV for a liqueur and for any spirit drink, and LWC’s UK listing gives Velvet Falernum as 11%. Legally it is a rum-based alcoholic drink. In the glass that changes nothing; it matters for labels and units.

Does falernum contain alcohol?

Velvet Falernum does, at 11% ABV on LWC’s UK listing, so 15ml adds about 0.17 of a UK unit. Bought syrups and our house recipe contain none. Our recipes count units from the 11% figure, so a syrup makes the drink slightly weaker and a little sweeter.

Does falernum contain nuts?

Usually. Velvet Falernum’s UK trade listing names almonds among its flavourings, and our house syrup steeps toasted flaked almonds. Some bought syrups leave almond out, so read the bottle. For anyone with a tree nut allergy, make the house recipe without the almonds.

How long does falernum keep once opened?

We keep an opened bottle of the 11% kind about six months in the fridge, with the lime fading first. The home-made syrup keeps one week refrigerated, the house rule for steeped syrups, so make it in small batches and write the date on the label.

How do you make falernum at home?

Dissolve 400g of caster sugar in 200g of warm water, then steep the zest of four limes, twenty crushed cloves, 30g of sliced ginger and 30g of toasted flaked almonds in it off the heat. Refrigerate overnight, strain through muslin, bottle and date it. It makes about 450ml.

What can I use instead of falernum?

Nothing matches it exactly. Allspice dram gives the spice without the lime and is stronger in flavour, so use about half the measure. Simple syrup with a dash of Angostura and a strip of lime zest shaken in covers the sweetness and some of the spice in a pinch.

What cocktails use falernum?

Ten of ours. The Zombie, Jet Pilot, Rum Swizzle and Chartreuse Swizzle take 15ml, the Nuclear Daiquiri 10ml and the Tiki Sour and Three Dots and a Dash 7.5ml. The Corn n’ Oil is the simplest showcase: blackstrap rum, falernum, lime and Angostura.

Sources.

Checked between 16 October and 19 October 2026.

LWC, “Taylors Velvet Falernum 70cl” (UK wholesaler listing (11% ABV; lime, cane syrup, almonds and cloves; John D Taylor of Bridgetown, 1890)).
Haus Alpenz, “John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum” (US importer’s page (rum-based liqueur; produced by R.L. Seale; 11.0%)).
Difford’s Guide, “Falernum” (secondary source: believed to date to 1700s Barbados; the name perhaps from falernian; the “you have fuh learn um” story, New York Times, 14 April 1982).
The Bitter Truth, “Pimento Dram” (producer’s page (22% ABV; no allergens)).
legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Annex II (retained)”.
legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Article 2 (retained)”.
The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (Martin Cate), “falernum” (secondary source: a traditional liqueur from Barbados; rum traders in the early twentieth century often bottled their own).

Make something

Made with Falernum

Featured In These Cocktails

Nuclear Daiquiri Tiki Sour Zombie Jet Pilot Corn n’ Oil Three Dots and a Dash

Show all 10 cocktails

Chartreuse Swizzle Illegal Pearl Diver Rum Swizzle

Often Used With

Updated 19 October 2026

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