After Hours (Recipe by Satvik Ahuja)

 

I was in the mood for kummel on a gray day last weekend and stumbled on this recipe on Difford's Guide. The drink makes me think of Covenant's song "After Hours" with its distorted electronic hum, slow beats and creepy stalker lyrics. And it was designed as an after dinner drink, but I found it much closer to an Aviation without the lemon juice. In fact, citrus notes are hinted at here, but omitted entirely for a spirits-forward punch sweetened by maraschino and honey in the kummel.

I'm working with my homemade kummel here, which is the same recipe as whatever akvavit I have on hand plus added honey syrup. I only make as much as I need on any particular day because it is a specialty ingredient. I also am having fun with the French gin, Citadelle. You could certainly go with a heavier gin, like an old tom or Ransom and make this a dessert drink. I felt that while Citadelle is a light, dry gin, it also has the heft of 18 botanicals that give it more weight in the nose than many American gins, especially after mixing them with Luxardo maraschino.

Difford's Guide is a good place to find new inventions like this, and many of the cocktails call for chilled water as an option. This is the first time I took that option, and I feel like it was a good call. The flavors are very packed in this cocktail and water gave them room to express. 

• 1 1/2 oz. dry gin (Citadelle used)
• 1/3 oz. kummel (homemade used)
• 1/3 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1 dash orange bitters
• 1/3 chilled water
• maraschino cherry (Bada Bing used)

Combine all ingredients except cherry in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a speared cherry.

Prince Albert's Salute

 

I like a drink with the word "salute" in the name. There's something kind of martial and celebratory about it. I also like a cocktail with four ounces of liquor, which you just put in a glass and add ice if you wish. It's about the convenience of consumption--and quantity--and that's important when there's a military parade in your honor to attend. 

Though Prince Albert (England's Edward VII before he was crowned king) was British, this is a cognac drink with equal measure of the Germanic liqueur, kummel. Kummel is a caraway spirit that is sweetened with honey and includes a variety of spices and herbs including anise seeds and fennel. (This is, of course, the sweet kummel recipe because I can't imagine this cocktail being done with dry kummel.)

The experience of this cocktail is both in its warm and chilled/ diluted forms. If unchilled and warmed in a snifter, the cocktail's honey and spice notes are most prominent, not unlike Drambuie. That in itself makes the name of "Prince" a nod to Drambuie's Bonnie Prince Charlie. Add ice, however, and you experience a cognac rocks drink that is easier to finish quickly before the salute.

• 2 oz. cognac (Martel single distillery used)
• 2 oz. kummel (homemade sweet kummel used)

Pour liquors into a brandy snifter and swirl while drinking. Alternatively add ice and enjoy chilled.

Kummeltini (Original Recipe)

 

I can't believe that there's not a Kummeltini. Not one that I can find, anyway. Being stuck at home has got me doing lots of crafty things like pickling and making my own liquors. One of these crafty things is making kummel. This is a German contribution to the spirit world. It is predominantly sweet but sometimes comes in dry varieties. The thing about kummel is that, while you can by commercially available brands, most Europeans make it in their own way. 

Caraway is the main ingredient. Cinnamon, anise, clove, and dill are other options, but you are not limited there. Then the infused spirit is sweetened with honey for a delicious and savory cordial treat. A little is all that is necessary in the Kummeltini, but the garnish needs to be something that is a little briny and sweet as well. I recommend a vegetable or even a fruit that has been in pickle juice for less than a day. I used a cherry tomato. It will still be crisp and fresh, and sweet if you use something juicy like I did. But it also signals in scent and taste the dill and spice of the Kummel.

• 2 oz. vodka (Smirnoff no. 57 used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz. kummel
• pickled tomato or other lightly pickled fruit or vegetable

Combine liquid ingredient in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a speared pickle of a fruit or vegetable. 

Kingston #1

 

I was really excited to make this drink because it is an unusual pairing of rum with kummel. You don't see that every day. I was also eager to try my own allspice dram (in the Monkey 47 bottle with the allspice label) This drink uses allspice dram (also known as pimento dram) as a sweetener and a substitute for Angostura bitters.

I was not disappointed. This cocktail is bold wtih a ton of tropical and European spices fighting for attention. The allspice dram is appropriately sweet and provides the sugar, while orange juice gives the kummel and allspice space so that you can taste them. Kummel is also sweet and lends a honey richness that is hard to pin down but familiar all the same.

You'd think with all that going on, I wouldn't be able to taste a quality rum. Not so! Vitae Barrel Aged rum is finished in bourbon barrels. It's my sipping rum, and I'm glad I used it here. Everything about this drink suggests a labor of love. You really have to pause and appreciate the richness it offers.

•  1 1/2 oz. dark rum (Vitae barrel aged used)
• 3/4 oz. kummel
• 3/4 oz. orange juice
• several dashes allspice dram

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Jagermeister

This is not the German spirit that we grew up taking "dare" shots of at dive bars, but it is close. This vodka cocktail goes for sour and earthy flavors just like the famed Jagermeister, which means master of the hunt. That might lend insight into the green color scheme of this recipe.

Kummel and Jager (as it is called) are similar Germanic sweet and herbal infusions. Jagermeister has a lot more clove and licorice root and a number of ingredients that are secrets to all except a small few who work for the distillers. My addition to the cocktail recipe is intended to balance the brightness, a heavy dash of clove and spice aromatic bitters by Hella.

• 1 1/2 oz. vodka (Smirnoff #57)
• 1/2 oz. kummel (homemade recipe used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice 
• lime twist
• dash aromatic bitters (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist a lime peel over the glass and drop it in.

Moscvatini

I didn't know that this Martini variation even existed. As far as Martini's go, it's not overly extravagant, just sweet and herbal. But I have to say that if you haven't had a black olive with kummel, you are missing out. It is the sweet honey and herbal flavors with the dark scent of black olive and vodka. Don't pass up the chance to make this especially dank and very Russian cocktail.

• 1 1/2 oz. vodka (Smirnoff #57 used)
• 1 oz. kummel (homemade used)
• black olive

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the black olive. 

Boyar

For Eastern European feudal societies the Boyar was the highest ranking aristocrat. This cocktail features some of the spirits that these guys used to put back with abandon. Vodka--a strong one, too-- is a standard for Eastern European heavy drinking. It's better if the vodka is very clean tasting, or no taste at all, so that it is almost creamy. A well-filtered Smirnoff does the trick for me.

Kummel is a celebratory flavored spirit that is savory and sweetened with honey. Often drunk at Christmas parties, Kummel's caraway, dill, and any number of random spices make it the defining characteristic of this cocktial.

I added cocktail onions in this recipe because their vinegar zing goes along with the other ingredients, and you can eat them, as they are commonly enjoyed with vodka toasts.

• 2 oz. vodka (Smirnoff #57 used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Carpano dry used)
• 1/4 oz. kummel (homemade used
• cocktail onions (optional)

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with onions of preferred. 

Allies

Gin and kummel go well together, so the thinking goes. Why not put two German spirits in a single cocktail and enjoy it with a little dry vermouth? What a classic pairing!

Monkey 47 is a dry gin with black forest botanicals that make this gin the deluxe brand that it is. Kummel is sweet and requires a dry gin to keep the balance. What you get is a cocktail that is more than the sum of its parts. There's juniper and caraway, gentian and fennel, anise seed and black pepper! Too many flavors to take in at one time. Make yourself a second drink!

• 1 oz. gin (Monkey 47 used)
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• several dashes of kummel (1/2 oz. recommended)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into an Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice. 

Silver Bullet (revisited with homemade kummel)

I remember not liking this drink very much when I opted for Jagermeister (the recommended substitute for kummel). After having several drinks with my homemade honey and caraway kummel, I'm happy to say that the best part of the Silver Bullet is the kummel.

This is a sweet and sour classic combination with gin. I chose Vitae Old Tom gin for its barrel age and sweet marshmallow flavor that I was correct in assuming would play nice with kummel. It did and I had a very enjoyable afternoon drink that was surprisingly easy to make.

• 2 oz. gin (Vitae Old Tom used)
• 1 oz. kummel (homemade kummel used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice

 Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.