Köbes (spirit)

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A bottle of Köbes

Köbes is a herbal bitter from Cologne. It is sold by G. van Laack Cologne Sekt & Spirituosen, a family business in the inner-city Belgian Quarter , and has an alcohol content of 32%.

Manufacturing

Köbes herbal bitters are made from 49 different herbs and plant extracts. These macerate in a specially produced wheat grain on an organic basis, which is not itself intended for trade. It is used exclusively as a preliminary product for the Köbes and the sour cherry liqueur "Nubbel".

Köbes has a relatively low sugar content. As prescribed for every herbal bitter, this is less than 100 grams per liter. But compared to other herbal bitters, the Köbes is overall less sweet. The color is dark brown with a slightly reddish sheen, in terms of taste, fruity, ethereal and woody-licorice notes are roughly in balance.

history

The Köbes was created at the end of the 1950s. The drink goes back to the champagne and spirits dealer Werner van Laack, who organized catering in large tents in the post-war period, as event rooms in the bombed-out city hardly existed. Van Laack acquired sales licenses for several spirits and acted as a general agent for the carbon dioxide plant in Germany in carbon dioxide bottles. Since the 1930s he has also supplied the Cologne gastronomy with various sparkling wine cuvées. In the 1950s he then developed a new product line based on various spirit recipes and launched the Köbes as a separate brand. The Köbes experienced a renaissance at the end of the noughties , when the third and fourth generation of the van Laack family presented the drink, which had meanwhile almost completely disappeared from the catering trade, to a primarily young target group. As a brand, the Köbes has never changed its appearance since its creation. The shape of the bottle and the label are still the same as when it was created. The label shows a Köbes from Cologne with a tray, and the Severins Bridge, which was newly built at the time, and the Rhine can be seen in the background.

Dissemination and distribution

Köbes is available in many Cologne restaurants; one focus is on the inner city of Cologne. In addition to being sold in the catering trade, the herb bitter is also offered in retail outlets , particularly in food retail (delicatessen departments in supermarkets, liquor stores, delicatessen shops) and in the trade in regional products (airport shops, Cologne tourism, etc.). Different bottle sizes are available: the 0.7-liter bottle is mainly used for catering, in addition, Köbes is filled in bottles with 0.35 liters and small hip flasks with 0.04 and 0.02 liters.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Personal conversation from user: Bordeaux with the owner Gisela van Laack on August 24, 2012
  2. ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of January 15, 2008 on the definition, description, presentation and labeling of spirits as well as the protection of geographical indications for spirits and the repeal of Regulation (EEC) No. 1576 / 89, Appendix II No. 32
  3. ↑ Belgian Quarter: This is not a shaving seat drink

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