StillSmart

Gradually drinking my way through some miniature bottles which I used to collect but which have just been gathering dust for the last 30 years, last night I tried a (Bols) Kümmel for the first time ever, and I liked it.

Wikipedia says it's flavoured with caraway seed, cumin and fennel, but a forum search here has brought up nothing.

Has anybody ever made one?

I've never heard of it... but ask and Ye shall find....recipe Here

I may give it a go sometime..

BJ

Many thanks, I hadn't tried searching outside of this forum

It was very sweet and that sounds like a LOT of sugar so I might modify the recipe a bit.

So has anybody here actually tried making it?

I've made several batches of kümmel and its less sweet cousin akvavit over the past couple of years. Here's a basic airstill kümmel.

Per liter of good neutral at 35% ABV (I usually run two or three liters at a time):

10 grams caraway seed
5 grams coriander seed
5 grams dill seed

Grind coarsely and macerate overnight. Dump the whole lot in your airstill and collect about half of it, possibly discarding the first few ml that can be a bit oily. Dilute and sweeten to taste.

Said to be a good remedy for flatulence, by the way.

Thanks wormwood,it has been years since I tasted this.
Hadn't realised that it may be so simple to make.
Robert.

Yup, this is the kind of thing that the airstill does really well. Easy to distill on the botanicals without scorching and easy to run small batches of stuff to see if you like it. Of course, getting the nice clean neutral takes a bit more work.

I do akvavit pretty much the same way. Replace the dill with fennel, maybe throw some bitter orange peel in there and dilute to drinking proof without sweetening. I tried oaking some once, but to be honest, I prefer it white.