While banana liqueur didn’t play a role in Golden Era tiki recipes, it has since carved out a firm foothold in Tiki revival classics like Pagan Idol’s Banana Life. For bartenders in the U.S. market, the two banana liqueurs that consistently come up in conversation are Giffard’s Banane du Brésil and Tempus Fugit’s Crème de Banane. The overall consensus is that Giffard’s offering leans toward fresh, ripe banana, while Tempus Fugit’s has a more cooked, “Bananas Foster” profile. While both are well-loved, they’re distinctly different beasts, enough to be noticeable in banana-forward recipes.
More recently, France-based Spiribam entered the banana liqueur space with its Clément Bana Canne. Given the popularity of the brand’s Creole Shrubb, the Bana Canne has a high bar to clear. Upon my request, the company provided me with a bottle to check out.
Similar to the Giffard (25%) and Tempus Fugit (26%), Bana Canne is bottled at 25% ABV. Per the Clément site, it’s:
A new and exclusive liqueur featuring bananas cultivated at Habitation Clément, seamlessly macerated with unaged rhum and a touch of pure cane syrup. A distinctive natural extraction from local bananas delivers vibrant aromas and flavors, specially crafted by Clément from a unique selection of semi-ripened bananas using innovative, low-energy green technologies.
Tasting Notes
My first reaction upon pouring it: it’s clear! Given the yellow hue of the fancy bottle, I imagined it would be some shade of yellow—à la Giffard and Tempus Fugit. No points off, here. I was just surprised.
Once in the mouth, fresh young banana leaps out—I daresay a touch brighter than Giffard’s banana. If then slowly fades into something noticeably drier (i.e., less sweet) than the others. While Giffard and Tempus Fugit function more like syrups that contain alcohol, Bana Canne delivers on its description: rhum agricole infused with banana. If you’ve had rhum arrangé, you know what I’m talking about. If the Bana Canne were just a bit higher in ABV—say, 30%—I wouldn’t be mad, but no complaint as it is.
As for use in cocktails, Bana Canne works beautifully in light sours, such as Daiquiris and the Ti’ Punch. But when crafting more complex, full-bodied tropical or tiki cocktails, if your ratios are dialed in for Giffard or Tempus Fugit, you might want to add a touch of 2:1 simple syrup or Demerara to maintain your preferred sweet-sour balance.
To wrap up, I was expecting the Bana Canne to be somewhat similar to Giffard’s Banane du Brésil, but they turned out to be quite different; I’m A-OK with that. The (now) “big three” banana liqueurs have distinct flavor territories carved out, with drink makers benefitting from an expanded range of flavors to choose from.
