Navan French Vanilla Liqueur

Hey there!

Was wondering if anyone knew of a good substitute for Navan French Vanilla Liqueur. I've been trying to find it around los angeles but no one seems to carry it anymore. I've tried bevmo, total wine, wine/liquor depot, walleys wine and spirits and beverage warehouse but no luck. I also saw that kahlua makes a french vanilla liqueur but have no clue of it is really comparable.

Thanks ahead of time for your help!
-Al

I did a couple of quick searches, and it looks like the Grand Marnier folks did stop selling the Navan -- the Web site is even dead. They billed it as a vanilla flavored cognac, so the Meukow might be a good alternative:

http://bit.ly/tXqYHs (link to Google shopping search)

The Meukow site is here: http://www.meukowcognac.com/frame.php?lang=gbr

Cheers,
Josh

I substitute Licor 43 (Cuarenta Y Tres) for Navan. It's not an exact match, but Licor 43 does have a good vanilla element and is used in a few other recipes. The only recipe I've ever seen call specifically for Navan is The Dead Reckoning and 43 works just fine there.

kevin

I've never had the Navan, and it appears i never will from the sound of it. I was going to suggest Licor 43 myself and Galliano is also vanilla based. From memory Marie Brizzard have a vanilla liqueur also, although i've never tried it.

It's still for sale in the Uk, so if you know someone who can ship it. But Liqor 43 sounds like a good substitute.

Navan was discontinued, although I still see it on the shelves around here (Northern Virginia). So you might be able to track some down if you're interested enough. There are other Vanilla-flavored Cognacs, including Meukow and Hardy, although I haven't tried them.

I would just go with the Licor 43, which is a great liqueur.

According the the Grand Marnier website, Navan is available in Canada, France, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and the Virgin Islands. There are a couple of threads about this on their boards, but no definitive answer. I have sent an email to the company. As is usual with corporate communication, I'm not holding my breath on a reply.

It makes no sense to me, because once I convinced the local liquor store to stock it, they couldn't keep it on the shelves. I

What a bummer. Meukow is not a decent substitute as the flavor and potency just aren't there. Meukow is buttery and subtle, the Navan is notably a stronger proof and the flavor really lingers on the palette. I'll need to research as my new book uses Navan for 3 drinks.

Licor 43 might not work as I thought it had citrus notes? But if the citrus notes are subtle enough then it might be fine. Galliano might work, but last I remember it had a more of a cotton candy-ish flavor.

Big Al, search on Bevmo's website but check "Store Pickup" vs shipping. I'm finding most have a stock of about 15 375ml bottles for $13 each. My local Mountain View store lists 51 bottles.

Here's an interesting article on 3 vanilla liquors. I may buy a bottle of ~$30 cognac and experiment with infusing natural Madagascar vanilla beans, adding Turbinado, Demerara or cane syrup to match the sweet/syrupy viscosity of Navan. I'm sipping Navan right now and also notice the ever slightest touch of honey. The cognac is definitely on the forefront which leads me to believe home infusion may be the way to go as long as plenty of vanilla is used. I'm still tasting vanilla well after 5 minutes of taking a sip. http://scottesrum.com/category/comparisons/3-vanilla-cognacs/

[ Edited by: Kahuna Kevin 2011-12-20 22:54 ]

I bought a big bottle of Navan from the duty free store at an airport in Germany this last July. If you have any friends doing international travel during the holidays, have them check out the duty free stores as well. There may be some stock left.

Wow thanks for all the help everyone. I ended up picking up a botle of meukow and then drove a bit further to grab that navan from a bevmo, thanks for that kevin. You can definitley taste the difference with the amount of vanilla in them but i havnt tried the results yet of meukow as a mixer instead of navan. Thanks again!

Hi all! Love the site.

Is there any consensus on a Navan substitute, specifically for the Dead Reckoning?

Thanks

Not any real consensus that I have seen yet, however I have learned:

1. Some are pointing to McGillicuddy's as a good sub. I bought a bottle of McGillicuddy's, but haven't worked with it much yet.

2. Somewhere I found, and downloaded, a recipe for a home-made Navan workalike. I'll look for it and try to post it here. I don't think I got it here from Tiki Central, and I spent quite a bit of time searching out a Navan sub.

I never got to try Navan, but from everything I've heard and read, it was good stuff. There still is quite a supply available from "scalpers" selling even small bottles for, perhaps $150 and more, if my memory is right.

I almost snagged a bottle from Leisure Master when he was cleaning out The Rhum Rhum Room. And I used to keep bottles behind the bar. It was awesome! I wouldn't even try to duplicate it.

TikiHardBop, from my reading way back when I got the impression that Navan is amazing stuff with probably no good sub available. I just found one of my notes from when I was researching the Navan and noted that online many people said the Meukow was a mere shadow compared to the Navan, some said Meukow was downright horrible or cloying. Still others pointed out the "vanilla cognac" base and suggested other vanilla cognacs, however I came to understand that the Navan base cognac was very fine and smooth and also difficult to obtain.

I will eventually pick up my bottle of McGillicuddy's vanilla and try to post a review here. It won't happen very soon, but eventually I'll try to come back around to this thread.

To the poster who asked about a consensus on a Navan alternative -- my best advice right now would be to read this entire thread carefully as there are some very good comments and insights from some published cocktail book authors which are very insightful.