Product: Voyant Chai Producer: Bacmar International LLC Approximate Retail Value: $24/bottle Category: Liqueur Reviewer: R. Pietsch The F Words: Flavor – Rich spiced cream. Feel – Heavy. Dense. Luscious. Finish – Everything lingers and slowly fades evenly.

Rating:

A lot of booze comes through this office. Sometimes it takes longer to get to a bottle than it should; sometimes, it’s because we dread trying some of the swill that comes our way. However, in this case it’s a great thing that we just got to Voyant Chai because its flavor lends itself incredibly well to the holiday season.

Most people are likely familiar with Bailey’s Irish Cream. It’s the standard in cream liqueurs and used in most of the dessert cocktails in existence. Over the past few years, there have been some new competitors to come on the market. Some are good (like Drambuie’s Sylk); other’s are not (like Dooley’s Toffee Cream). And then there’s Voyant Chai, which is, in a word, excellent.

Voyant is a rum-based liqueur, with flavors coming from Dutch cream, Asian spices, and their key marketing point—black tea from India. The way it is described leads you to believe that the tea will be the dominant flavor. Fortunately, this isn’t the case. The combination brings a flavor profile unlike anything out there right now. The balance of the spices and the tea are paired with the alcohol from the aged rum and blended perfectly into this delicate cream to create something (and I mean this) anyone can enjoy.

The danger that comes with this elegantly packaged item is not the typical one—that is, paying an exorbitant amount for a cream liqueur that sits on the shelf waiting to curdle. No, the danger here is that there’s little chance that Voyant Chai will make it to your shelf. This is the first bottle I have ever reviewed that was completely gone before writing the review. It’s just that good. To be fair, it weighs in at a mere 12.5 percent alcohol, which won’t leave you nearly as impaired as a bottle of liquor might.

It’s also as versatile as any other cream liqueur on the market, if not more. Whether it’s as an after-dinner drink straight up in a snifter, served warm at a holiday party instead of egg nog, or in one of the MANY cocktails suggested on the Voyant Chai website, this product is a winner.