Mentzendorff Kummel Liqueur | 50 cl

Product Information

We say: Dry and Martini-like. Assertive kummel flavours pervade a punchy mix of rum and coconut water. At Brooklyn’s Maison Premiere, the liqueur appears in the High Chicago, a vegetal and savory drink that doubles down on kümmel’s herb-and-spice notes by partnering it with Suze and Greek mastiha. “This is an expression of sun-kissed beta-carotene plants and vegetables and colors,” bar director Will Elliot notes, in reference to the spectrum of spirits in the mix, from Greek mastiha (distilled from tree resin) to apricot eau de vie.

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. 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."We say: Medium-dry, herbal, fruity, refreshing and delightfully different. Best served as an aperitivo. 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. 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 Either way, with speculation rife about the end of production of Wolfschmidt, the largest and most recognisable Kummel brand on the bar shelves across the U.K. what can we learn and what does this mean for future generations of golfers? Remember, always drink responsibly and for those who don’t drink alcohol, we’ve included an awesome non-alcoholic drink that will leave you feeling fresh and ready for your next round. ALCOHOLIC GOLF DRINKS Kummel

We say: If you like Aviation's then this caraway influenced sour may appeal. It's powerfully flavoured so also consider serving in an old-fashioned over ice to allow dilution to tame the flavours. 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. After 3 day filter the spices from the alcohol and pour the infused spirit into a clean 750 ml bottle that has a cap or closure. You can filter the spices with a simple mesh strainer or a coffee filter. Since I have a V60 for making coffee at home I use that. If you use a paper or cloth filter, remember to wet it before hand, or the filter will soak up you alcohol. 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 Comment: Considering this comes from the same distillery as the Mentzendorff, it’s a completely different animal, reminding me more of the German style.Kummel, an aniseed and caraway infused liqueur has been loitering around our clubhouses, keeping golfers hydrated, stomachs-settled and their first-tee nerves at bay for over a century now, but there is a serious cloud hanging over the future of this famous spirit and its place in the game.