Mentzendorff Kummel Liqueur | 50 cl

Product Information

Kummel seems to have taken off in 1930s as golf clubs spread over the British countryside. Nobody seems to know why. My theory is that as most golf clubs are relatively recent creations, their normally nouveau-riche founders were aping the habits of older institutions, including drinking kummel. Nobody likes a bit of invented tradition more than golfers. 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 Golf is a sport with the power to make you the hero of your own story or send you into the depths of despair.

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. We say: Not so far removed from an Aviation. Depending on your grapefruit juice, this particular Weekly Special may be very slightly on the sweet side but it's fantastically aromatic and characterful. If you find too sweet, then slightly up the grapefruit juice. Comment: Very caraway-forward, but with well-balanced spice and sweetness. Wolfschmidt Doppelt Kummel. 39%. This year we have spent a great deal of time studying the early history of the game. When you think about the rules of golf, how hole sizes, or indeed, the number of holes on the links was determined in those early days, it is only fair to assume that those same pioneering early golf clubs who set those trends might have adopted Kummel as a post lunch tipple and as such, accidentally, blazed another trail of their own. excludes Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands & Islands, and the Isles of Wight, Man and Scilly - please see below)

Later, in William Schmidt's 1892 The Flowing Bowl: When and What to Drink, a recipe for kümmel appeared: "Fill three quarts of cognac or kirschwasser, six ounces of broken caraway, and two-fifths of an ounce of star anise into a glass bottle, close it with a bladder, and place it in a pot partly filled with cold water; now heat this, and let boil for half an hour; take the pot from the fire, and let the bottle get cool in the water, then sweeten the liquor with two pounds of refined sugar; filter, bottle and cork well." 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 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. 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. We say: Medium-dry, herbal, fruity, refreshing and delightfully different. Best served as an aperitivo.

Whether that is due to a decision by the company to remove distribution in the U.K. or if the product itself is no longer to be produced at all is not known, and the details behind it seem to be extremely vague. We say: The powerful flavours of kummel and maraschino liqueurs are tamed and harnessed in this sour. Fill the bottle of infused spirit with about 440 ml of your premade simple syrup, close the bottle and let rest for 1 day in your refrigerator. 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? 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.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. Place a small glass container (a pint size mason jar will work) on your kitchen scale and weight out 252.96 grams of Everclear and put aside. Allasch is a variety of Kümmel; it is also a caraway liqueur of around 40% ABV, usually flavoured with bitter almonds, anise, angelica root and orange peel. Of its characteristics, the 1955 UKBG Guide to Drinks describes kummel as, " One of the most popular of all Liqueurs with definite digestive properties. It has been made in Holland since 1595, but Kummel from Riga, and Gilka Kummel from Berlin, used to be even more universally popular than the Dutch Kummel. Kummel has in its basis some highly distilled or almost neutral spirit, sometimes distilled from grain, sometimes from potatoes rarely if ever from wine. It is flavoured with caraway seeds and cumin, to which it owes its digestive qualities." 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.

I doubt the young master would approve of all these ghastly middle-class johnnies enjoying his tipple, but then again, with all that kummel he put away, I don’t think he’d notice. 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. We say: Dry and Martini-like. Assertive kummel flavours pervade a punchy mix of rum and coconut water.

History of kummel

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. Pink Gin though is a little different and a refined take on a set of classic ingredients loved by golfers. Our advice would be to bag a bottle for yourselves, sit on it, and enjoy a vintage drop in years to come.

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. 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. Kümmel, kummel or kimmel ( Latvian: ķimelis), is a sweet, colourless liqueur flavoured with caraway ( German: Kümmel, Latvian: ķimenes) seeds, cumin and fennel.

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