The Cabinet: Kümmel

Käsi nousee uskomattoman helposti heil-tervehdykseen kahden Kümmelin ja yhden Cherry Brandyn jälkeen

IS there an ingredient that you would like me to feature in The Cabinet? By all means, let me know! I plan to run a few of these over the next few weeks - Amaretto? Ancho Reyes? Cachaça? - and I’d love to know what you have lurking at the back of your cupboard.

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~ KÜMMEL ~
Caraway- (and to a lesser extent cumin-) flavoured liqueur from northern Europe. 15-30% ABV. £15-£30 for 700ml

Please note, much of the below is an elaboration of a piece I wrote for Mr Porter in 2019; but the cocktail recipes are all new.

There’s a lovely passage in Charles H Baker’s Prohibition-era travelogue, The Gentleman’s Companion (1939), which describes a stay at a friend’s bungalow on Juhu Beach in Mumbai. The “tray of liqueurs” that emerges after dinner brings Baker particular delight. We must bear in mind that these liquids were banned in the US at the time so for Baker, it must have been like seeing old friends after a pandemic:

“Drambuie – our favourite of all – Chartreuse, green and yellow; Cordial Medoc, which is made from peach pits; brandy fine, Bénédictine, Curaçao, Kirschwasser and Cointreau; and kümmel in a bottle like a bear.”

Now, Drambuie, we shall come to in good time - and I feel its ‘twin’, Bénédictine, is overdue too. But what really catches the eye is that kümmel in its ursine receptacle. It probably looked something like this:

So what is kümmel? And should I be drinking it?