Mentzendorff Kummel Liqueur | 50 cl

Product Information

We say: The powerful flavours of kummel and maraschino liqueurs are tamed and harnessed in this sour. Although kummel's origins are thought to be Dutch, Russia is now the largest producer and consumer of kummel. It also remains popular in Germany, particularly Berlin. History of kummel

excludes Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands & Islands, and the Isles of Wight, Man and Scilly - please see below) A Gunner is made with Ginger Beer or Ginger Ale, lime and angostura bitters (44.7% proof alcohol) and has a strong, sharp taste. The fizz and ginger offsets the citrus nicely and produces a refreshing settling drink. NON-ALCOHOLIC GOLF DRINKS Arnold Palmer We first encountered kümmel in a funny-looking bottle featuring an image of a ‘kaiser penguin,'” says Billy Helmkamp, co-owner and co-beverage director at Chicago’s The Whistler, referring to Gilka Kaiser-Kümmel. The unique caraway and pepper notes (the latter is dominant in the Gilka brand, in particular) immediately intrigued. In the South Pole Swizzle, those flavors are a balancing addition to the tiki trio of passion fruit syrup, citrus, bitters and gin.

Review and Tasting

E A Simmons considers kummel in 1874's The American Bar-Tender as, "the favorite liqueur of Russia; the best is made at Weissenchein, in Esthonia." Remote Areas - Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands & Islands, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man and The Scilly Isles Delivery Service Once the spices and alcohol are in the same container, seal it up, give it a shake and let sit for 3 days out of direct sunlight. The alcohol will extract flavors and some color out of the spices, and if you want to give it a shake once a day, go for it. Some of the most memorable days golfing generally involve spending far too long in the clubhouse where friendships are forged, and very often Kummel is the catalyst to those friendships… and so on that basis, we think it’s a tradition worth protecting. In The Whistler's South Pole Swizzle, kümmel's savoriness is a welcome, balancing addition to a tiki trio of passion fruit syrup, citrus and bitters. More Recipes →

We say: Perhaps best described as a Kummel Martini with kummel liqueur's strong caraway favours fortified with vodka, freshened and made more complex by the addition of grapefruit bitters. Place a small bowl on your kitchen scale and weigh out 25 grams of caraway. Dump the caraway into the alcohol and repeat with the coriander and fennel. The leading brand is made by Mentzendorff. Ludwig Mentzendorff, the company’s founder, was originally Prussian and the kummel came from Riga. He became naturalised in Britain in 1860 and nowadays, the liqueur is distilled in France to the old recipe. The company still exists, though their main business is now importing wine – they’ve been sole British agent for Bollinger since 1858. Kummel lingers on as an obscure speciality except, oddly, at golf clubs. It is as much part of the culture as plus fours, personalised number plates and rightwing politics. It is known as “putting mixture” and served just before going out on the course to relax golfers. For golfers, Kummel evokes a sense of nostalgia, a decorative compliment to the familiar scene we all love about Golf. Sitting out on the terrace while the sun sets, with the dappled light transforming the links into a watercolour of rumpled fairways and long shadows whilst you sit there sharing a constant series of well-worn stories. That’s the real essence of golf clubs in Britain – where camaraderie trumps playing-ability.

Comments

A charming and evocative scene of drinking kümmel occurs in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's television miniseries, "Berlin Alexanderplatz" (1980), where the character Franz Biberkopf speaks in the voices of glasses of kümmel and three beers in a philosophical dialogue as he evaluates the taste and downs each drink in turn. Kümmel, kummel or kimmel ( Latvian: ķimelis), is a sweet, colourless liqueur flavoured with caraway ( German: Kümmel, Latvian: ķimenes) seeds, cumin and fennel. Since I don’t have a still, I started looking for kummel recipes online that use maceration (soaking botanicals in alcohol) instead. While Google came trough and gave me some results, none of the online recipes were exactly what I was looking for. However, I came across a note about an old French distillers recipe book that included kummel. There was no mention of a title or author so it took awhile to locate but eventually I found the source: Culture de la Vigne: Traitement Pratique des Vins: Vinification - Distillation by Raimond Boireau (1876). The book includes five recipes for kummel (pp 451-453): One with just caraway, one with caraway essence, and three that use caraway with a small amount of other spices. Based on these recipes I decided to make one bottle (750ml) of about 40% ABV kummel that was 30 parts caraway, 2 parts coriander and 1 part fennel. Recipe for EZ Homemade Kummel Inspired by the traditional toast drink of a British Army Officer’s Mess, Port (a fortified Red wine) is also a firm favourite with traditional golf clubs, either in a hip flask on the course or in the bar to help warm up after a cold Winter round. Port – providing fortitude to golfers and soldiers for centuries Gunner

The perfect digestif, Kummel offered medicinal benefits as well as libation, but how this drink has come to be all but a golf club speciality is also shrouded in mystery and folklore.Kummel is a caraway-flavoured liqueur – the UK uses the Dutch spelling without an umlaut (it’s kümmel in Germany); the word simply means ‘caraway’. Production methods vary slightly by brand – using Mentzendorff as an example, alcohol made from sugar beet is double-distilled in a pot still with caraway seeds. After the second distillation, sugar is added and the mixture is watered down to 38% abv. It is then left to rest for two months in stainless-steel vats before being bottled. Kummel is therefore similar to taffel Akvavit, except that the latter is aged in oak casks. Initially the kummel has lots of flavor from the spices, it is very sweet and has some sharpness from the alcohol. However, the longer the kummel sits the more that alcohol smooths out. If you have a sweet tooth, you will like the recipe as is but for me the next time I make it, I will only use 3/4 or half as much sugar. If you live in an area where 190 Everclear is not available you can also use 400 ml of 151 Everclear (75.5% ABV), or 600 ml of 100 proof vodka (50% ABV) with the same amount of spices. The maceration won’t be as intense and you will not need as much simple syrup to bring it down to proof.