How LS Cream Liqueur Is Bringing a Classic Haitian Spirit to the U.S.
During the holiday season back in 2011, Myriam Jean-Baptiste and Stevens Charles found themselves sitting at their kitchen table in Montreal with a bottle of homemade cremas, the creamy, spicy liqueur popular in Haiti, where the couple, who met in college, both trace their roots. They’d both grown up drinking the concoction made by their grandmothers and mothers, especially on festive occasions. But as they sipped it alongside purchased bottles of wine and other spirits, they wondered why cremas wasn’t sold in liquor stores, too.
Product Development
A few years later, the duo launched LS Cream Liqueur, a creamy, spicy mixture that tastes great on its own or in a cocktail like the White Russian or Espresso Martini. But it wasn’t a fast or easy ride. “One of the first issues that we had, was that even though we grew up with this recipe all our lives, but would it appeal to other cultures?” said Charles. “Because we’ve seen a lot of people come and request at our house, or see my mom and ask if she can do some cremas for them for the holidays.”
In doing their own market research, Jean-Baptiste and Charles began to make homemade cremas to bring to parties, putting it in the ice bucket next to the wine and other spirits served, like vodka and gin. “And we didn’t say anything, we just waited. And sure enough people were intrigued, because you could see that it was like a cream, but it was homemade, and they started to pass it around, and people started to inquire about it,” said Charles. “After a while, Myriam and I said, ‘Listen, guys, we were doing a test. This is a recipe from Haiti called cremas. What do you think?’ And the feedback was amazing because of the taste.”
But their friends also gave constructive feedback about how to improve the recipe, make it thin and fluid enough for cocktails (traditional cremas can be thick and even chunky) and make it shelf stable, one of the biggest hurdles with cream liqueurs.
Haitian Cremas
Typically, making a batch of cremas takes several hours over the stove. “You have condensed milk, freshly grated coconut, spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and an alcohol called Clerin. It’s a really long process, and I remember being in the kitchen and looking at my mother and my aunt gathered together and making that recipe, because there’s so much love and so much heritage in that in cremas,” says Jean-Baptiste. “If I offer you a bottle of cremas, I’m offering you a lot of love because I took time to make it for you.”
Jean-Baptiste and Charles spent the next few years perfecting the recipe, investing all of their savings of about two years for R&D, and even downsizing their home, in a true labor of love. They used Charles’ grandmother’s handwritten recipe as the base (LS stands for her and Stevens’ initials) and worked hard to make it shelf-stable without separation.
Sweet Success
By 2014, they submitted a sample to the Wines and Spirits Wholesalers of America Competition held in Las Vegas and managed to win a gold medal. Word got out, and they were even invited to Haiti to celebrate their accomplishment. But it took several years longer to bottle large quantities and to find their way into liqueur stores and bars in the U.S., which began to happen in 2020.
Fast forward to 2021, when after an impressive growth year LS Cream Liqueur expanded into additional states, meaning the bottle can now be found in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Washington, D.C. LS Cream is also available online via ReserveBar.
Jean-Baptiste and Charles also unveiled a sleek new bottle design that features elements of the Haitian flag, including the Haitian coat of arms and the triumphant palm from the Haitian flag.
“It mirrors all the sacrifices that our ancestors had to go through to enable us today, some 400 years later, that after all that our people have gone through, that today we have our heritage, we have our culture, and now that’s at the forefront of the bottle,” says Charles. “This bottle allows us to share with people that Haiti was the first Black Republic to be able to successfully revolt and become the first Black Republic of the Western Hemisphere and we have so much pride in that.”
LS Recipes
LS Whipped White Russian
1 Tablespoon hot water
1 Tablespoon instant coffee powder
1 Tablespoon honey or granulated sugar
2 oz of vodka
1½ oz of LS Cream Liqueur
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1–2 oz of whole or nut milk
Method:
Combine hot water, instant coffee, and honey or sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, whip until fluffy and light. Fill a glass with ice. Add vodka, LS Cream Liqueur, and vanilla. Stir. Pour the milk over and stir to combine. Spoon the whipped coffee over top and gently stir.
Spicy LS Coco
Crushed Thai chili pepper seeds according to your spice tolerance
2 oz of LS Cream Liqueur
1 oz mango flavored rum
¼ oz coconut flavored rum
1 oz milk
Grated coconut, for garnish
Whole red Thai chili, for garnish
Method:
Add all the ingredients except the coconut and whole chili. Fill with ice and shake vigorously. Pour into an old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Add grated coconut and a whole chili pepper on top for garnish.
LS Espresso Martini
1 oz LS Cream Liqueur
1 oz espresso
1½ oz vodka
1 oz coffee liqueur
Method:
In a cold martini glass, pour the LS Cream. Fill a shaker with 2 big ice cubes. Add all the other ingredients. Shake vigorously. Strain the mixture in the glass, over the LS Cream.