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Mentzendorff Kummel Liqueur | 50 cl

£8.69£17.38Clearance
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About this deal

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

Some historians [ which?] state that Lucas Bols (1652-1719) first distilled kümmel liqueur in the Netherlands in 1675. [1] [ bettersourceneeded] It was then taken [ by whom?] to Germany and to Russia; the former is now the principal producer and consumer of kümmel. 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." 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."

Review and Tasting

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. 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. 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. Golf is a sport with the power to make you the hero of your own story or send you into the depths of despair.

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? Kümmel (also spelled kimmel, or kummel) is a colorless herbal liqueur flavored with spices and herbs—most notably, caraway seeds and cumin, which impart a distinctly savory-spicy flavor. Lore has it that the liqueur was created by Dutch distiller Lucas Bols in 1575. It’s here in Holland that it was encountered by Peter the Great in the last decade of the 1600s, while he was illicitly gathering intel on Dutch shipbuilding methods. He apparently enjoyed it so much that he brought it home with him to Russia, where it ultimately became a mainstay. Kümmel began to further establish itself in Eastern and Western Europe in 1800s, when one family in Riga, Latvia—then under Russian rule —decided to go commercial with its traditional recipe; today that brand, Mentzendorff Kümmel (now produced in France by the Combier distillery) remains one of the most popular producers of kümmel, along with Combier (France), Gilka (Germany) and Wolfschmidt (Denmark). 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: An interesting contrast between nose and palate, the latter being where it really comes alive. The length is impressive – I can see why this is the choice of clubs around the country. Combier Doppelt Kummel Extra. 38%. We say: Dry and Martini-like. Assertive kummel flavours pervade a punchy mix of rum and coconut water.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. 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.

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