Mentzendorff Kummel, Saumur 50cl 38%

Description

Mentzendorff Kummel is a caraway flavoured digestif made in Saumur, France. 

Mentzendorff has experienced a remarkable history since 1823 which started and revolved about an old Manor House, called Allasch, in Livonia about 40 kilometres from the Baltic Port of Riga. The Barons passed on an old family recipe from which they used to make a Kummel Liqueur for their friends called Allasch Kummel. Mentzendorff, then an export firm in Riga, suggested to the Barons that they should make the Kummel for export, which they did. Soon, other European Liqueur manufacturers began to imitate the liqueur and closely copied the label, without succeeding however to match the genuine ‘finesse’ of the original. Today Mentzendorff Kummel is produced at Saumur, France, by the oldest distillery in the Loire Valley, the Combier distillery, founded in 1834. 

Kummel is made by placing caraway seeds into vats with natural alcohol derived from sugar beet. The pot stills are steam heated for seven hours with steam passing under the stills at 152°C at 7 bar pressure. Once the distillate passes through the cooling pipes it is collected in inert tubs and then double distilled to produce exceptional clarity of flavour. During the first distillation, the hearts and tails are retained, however the unstable heads are disposed of. The hearts and the tails then together undergo a second distillation from which only the hearts are collected. This clear, stable liquid is mixed with sugar and reduced to 38% abv with ionised water. It remains in vats for two months prior to bottling. It is then rinsed with a neutral spirit, filled and wax sealed by hand.