Cacao and rose waste, generated yearly by chocolate and rose-oil industry, respectively, pose to the manufacturers' difficulties for disposal. These by-products are underused and represent also sources of valuable substances: polyphenols, polysaccharides, aroma substances, etc. The aim of the present work was to characterize cacao waste and evaluate possibility for preparation of liqueurs with substituted cacao and aromatized with rose waste. The cacao waste was investigated for total dietary fibres (63.58±0.22% DW), proteins (15.80±0.11% DW), and hexane-soluble substances (13.39±0.08% DW). The most abundant essential amino acids were lysine, phenylalanine and threonine: 1.35±0.13, 1.00±0.08 and 0.73±0.11 g.100g -1 waste, respectively. Water, 50% and 95% ethanol extracts were obtained and the highest amount of polyphenols were extracted with 50% ethanol: 5.86±0.39 mg GAE.g -1 dry weight (DW) for cacao waste and 3.33±0.39 mg QE.g -1 DW for rose waste. The antioxidant activity of 50% ethanol extracts, evaluated by DPPH and FRAP (82.82±1.72 and 31.13±0.70 mM TE.g -1 DW cacao waste, respectively; and 14.53±0.35 and 13.42±0.64 mM TE.g -1 DW rose waste, respectively) suggested that cacao and rose wastes had a potential as antioxidant supplements. The most prevalent aroma substances in cacao ethanol (50%) extract was hexanal (10.33±0.12% of TIC) and for rose extract: β-phenylethyl alcohol (17.14±0.18% of TIC). A novel possibility for valorization of cacao and rose wastes was explored and liqueurs with substituted cacao powder with cacao waste and added rose waste extracts were obtained. Sensory evaluation revealed that cacao pod husks were a promising constituent for preparation of low-alcoholic beverages.