We say: Medium-dry, herbal, fruity, refreshing and delightfully different. Best served as an aperitivo.

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 KummelAfter 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. 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." 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. 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. 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

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.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 → 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). Comment: Considering this comes from the same distillery as the Mentzendorff, it’s a completely different animal, reminding me more of the German style.

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.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: 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. In the mid-19th Century, kümmel was the rival of gin. Being made with caraway rather than juniper, it had one main advantage: caraway has a calmative effect, reducing flatulence and the bloated feeling experienced after a heavy meal. By 1850, [3] this "medicinal" benefit helped Ludwig Mentzendorff create a healthy business importing kümmel to Britain.

We say: Dry and Martini-like. Assertive kummel flavours pervade a punchy mix of rum and coconut water. 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 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. Pink Gin though is a little different and a refined take on a set of classic ingredients loved by golfers. 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. Remote Areas - Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands & Islands, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man and The Scilly Isles Delivery Service 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.