C. Cassis takes the crème de cassis of Dijon cafés and rethinks it as something drier, brighter and very much from New York. Rachael Petach launched it in 2020 and makes it in a former dairy barn in Rhinebeck, in the Hudson Valley.

The starting point is New York-grown blackcurrants, a fruit American farmers were effectively barred from growing for most of the last century. The berries are lightly fermented, fortified with a clean distilled spirit and seasoned with cardamom, bay leaf, lemon verbena, citrus rind and a little wild honey. At 16% alcohol it behaves more like a vermouth than a syrupy liqueur: tart, herbal and savory. Pour it over ice with soda, top it with sparkling wine, or sip it on its own.