Danzig Goldwasser

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Bottle of original Danziger Goldwasser

The Danziger Goldwasser is a spice liqueur that was originally produced by the liqueur factory Der Lachs zu Danzig , its history can be traced back to the 16th century. The clear and spicy-sweet liqueur, in which small flakes of gold leaf swim, has an alcohol content of 40 percent by volume .

history

The Dutch immigrant Ambrosius Vermöllen, a religious refugee ( Mennonite ) from Lier in the 16th century, founded the factory in the Danzig house Der Lachs in 1598 , produced liqueurs under the name Der Lachs and sold them. Due to the further technical development of distillation , the production of alcoholic beverages based on herbs and spices increased in the 17th century . Occasionally gold and silver flakes were added to these alcoholic beverages - possibly in order (according to the views of the then very widespread alchemical medicine) to strengthen the medicinal properties of the herbal extracts , but perhaps also to demonstrate wealth. Gold as a medicinal ingredient can be found in the aurum potabile (drinkable gold, gold tincture, gold water), which was offered from the Middle Ages to modern times , which consisted of thinly hammered gold flakes placed in vinegar, vegetable oil or (alcoholic) aqua vitae and was considered the elixir of life . In the Middle Ages, however, there was also the elixir aqua auri (gold water) as (according to Kopp) originally gold-colored or gold-valued and later gold-containing medicine.

Another theory about the origin of gold water goes back to the technique of gilding , for which specialized artisans in Gdańsk are said to have been famous. In principle, the gilding of furniture, mirror or picture frames is done by applying extremely thin rolled out gold foils. This is done with the help of brushes of different widths, adapted to the surfaces, of different hardness. The gilder has to pick up the extremely thin gold foil and apply it to the wood - to do this, he dips the brush in alcohol, first smears it in a spot in the wood and then dips the brush again in the alcohol: This means that he can easily attach the foil to the foil thanks to the adhesion Let the brush stick and apply. The gilder presses the foil onto the wood. The alcohol has ensured that the wood has an adhesive effect for the short remaining working time, but then diffuses through the remaining wood pores, so the piece of furniture or the frame does not "sweat" under the gold. The alcohol used is renewed after a while because it is contaminated with the finest wood dust and dirt and can thus prevent a smooth gold surface. Because the gilders kept leaving bits of gold from the brush in the alcohol when the brushes were re-immersed, the glittering liquid was created, which is said to have only been diluted to drinking strength and made palatable by adding spices.

The “Güldenwasser” with real 22-carat gold leaf quickly became a classy social drink. Danzig Goldwasser became the favorite liqueur of Catherine the Great .

Original bottle of Danziger Goldwasser (around 1940)

During the Second World War , the house of the salmon and the liquor factory, in which the gold water was made, was destroyed. After the end of the war, the production of gold water according to the old recipe was resumed in the Berlin branch of the liqueur factory, later the recipe was transferred to Hardenberg-Wilthen AG in Nörten-Hardenberg , which Danziger Goldwasser sells throughout Europe to this day.

In addition, the liqueur was produced by the Polmos company in Starogard Gdański in Poland; later production was relocated to Poznan . There the production of the liqueur was stopped in June 2009, although the rights to the brand were retained.

Main ingredients

The Danziger Goldwasser is due to the history outlined above, which among other things distillates of cardamom , coriander , lemon - and Pomeranzenschalen , juniper berries , cumin , lavender , cinnamon , celery seed and mace contains.

See also

Web links

Commons : Danziger Goldwasser  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Friedrich Dobler: Conrad Gessner as a pharmacist. Mathematical and scientific dissertation, Zurich 1955, pp. 50 and 61.
  2. ^ Hermann Kopp : History of Chemistry. 4 volumes, Braunschweig 1843–1847; Reprint Hildesheim 1966, Volume 1, p. 66.
  3. ↑ The salmon (Hardenberg-Wilthen AG)
  4. ↑ Gazeta.pl: The Polish liquor Goldwasser disappears from the store shelves , https://web.archive.org/web/20091002150421/http://gospodarka.gazeta.pl/gospodarka/1,33181,7081486,Polska_Goldwasser_znika_z_polek.html , 09/27/2009