🥃 Berliner Kümmel
Sweetened spirit drink from Berlin flavoured with caraway: an EU PGI since 1989, from 32% ABV, colourless or slightly yellowish, colourings banned.
Berliner Kümmel is an EU protected geographical indication for a spirit drink from Berlin flavoured with caraway. Spirit of agricultural origin is distilled with caraway seeds or flavoured with caraway distillate or oil, sometimes with anise, fennel or star anise, and sweetened. Strength is from 32% ABV, colour colourless or slightly yellowish.
Protected name. The name has been protected in the EU since 1989. Germany submitted the technical file PGI-DE-02049 on 19 June 2018, and the Commission approved the changes in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/179. The file classes the drink as a liqueur, while the current eAmbrosia register lists it among caraway drinks Kümmel, alongside the Hamburg and Munich ones. Analyses are carried out by the Berlin-Brandenburg State Laboratory.
Production. There are two traditional methods. The warm one is distillation, sometimes double, of a mix of water, spirit, caraway (Carum carvi) and other plants, followed by dilution to drinking strength. The cold one is flavouring spirit with caraway oil or distillate. Sugar is then added, the drink is filtered if needed and bottled. Colourings and other food additives are banned, and the caraway, spirit and sugar do not have to come from Berlin.
History. According to the technical file, Kümmel has been made in the Berlin area since 1680, and for more than 150 years both a low-extract caraway drink and a liqueur were produced here. It is mentioned in a song from the folk play «Eckensteher Nante im Verhör», premiered in 1833 at the Königstädter Theater, and in 1861 the Berlin address book lists «Berliner Getreide-Kümmel». In the second half of the 19th century caraway was grown on the city's irrigation fields on a large scale.
Why this matters to you. The labels «alt» or «alter» are allowed only after at least six months of maturation, and words like «feiner» only for a noticeably better drink. Caraway gives aroma, not digestive benefit: the bottle holds strong alcohol from 32% ABV. WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.
Facts
| EU category | caraway drink Kümmel (category 23 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) per the eAmbrosia register; liqueur in the 2018 technical file; PGI since 1989 |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Regulation (EU) 2019/787; technical file PGI-DE-02049 (2018); Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/179 |
| Raw material | spirit of agricultural origin, caraway seeds, distillate or oil (Carum carvi), possibly anise, fennel, star anise; sugar |
| Distillation method | «warm» method — distillation or double distillation with caraway; «cold» — flavouring with caraway oil or distillate |
| Alcohol (% vol.) | from 32% ABV |
How it connects to Spirits
🥃 Berliner Kümmel → kind of → 🌱 Caraway spirits and aquavit → kind of → 🥃 Spirits
Links
- Made from
- 🥃 Anise
- What it contains
- 🍬 Sugar
- What it affects
- 🍷 Alcohol and health, 🍷 Drunk driving
- Part of
- 🌱 Caraway spirits and aquavit
- Related to
- 🌍 Central Europe
- Similar and different
- 🥃 Aquavit, 🍸 Liqueurs, 🥃 Hamburger Kümmel
Frequently asked questions
Does Berliner Kümmel help digestion?
No. Caraway only gives flavour; this is strong alcohol from 32% ABV, and health claims for such drinks are banned in the EU.
How is Berliner Kümmel different from aquavit?
Both smell of caraway, but aquavit is a separate EU category from 37.5% ABV made only with herbal distillate, while Berliner Kümmel is from 32% ABV, sweetened, and may use caraway oil.
Is Berliner Kümmel a liqueur?
The 2018 technical file classed it as a liqueur, while the current eAmbrosia register lists it as a Kümmel caraway drink; producers historically made both sweeter and drier versions.
Does the caraway have to come from Berlin?
No. The drink must be made in Berlin, but the caraway, spirit and sugar may come from elsewhere.
Which other Kümmels are protected in Germany?
Hamburger Kümmel and Münchener Kümmel are separate EU geographical indications of the same category.
What to read next
- 🍷 Alcohol and health — Alcohol in any drink is harmful in large amounts, and the risks grow with the quantity.
- 🍸 Liqueurs — Liqueur is a sweetened spirit with herbs, fruit or nuts: from 15% vol., usually at least one hundred grams of sugar per litre.
- 🌍 Central Europe — Curd cheese (quark), cheeses and butter in peasant cooking.
- 🥃 Aquavit — Spirit drink of alcohol flavoured with caraway or dill distillate: in the EU from 37.5% vol., essential oils banned.
- 🥃 Hamburger Kümmel — A caraway liqueur made only in Hamburg: agricultural spirit with caraway seeds, natural flavourings and sugar, at least 32% ABV, no colourings; EU protected name since 1989.
Similar
🥃 Hamburger Kümmel · 🥃 Norwegian aquavit (Norsk Akevitt) · 🥃 Benediktbeurer Klosterlikör · 🥃 Ettaler Klosterlikör · 🥃 Bayerischer Blutwurz · 🥃 Cantueso Alicantino
⚠️ Spirit drinks contain alcohol and are for adults only. Alcohol harms health. Do not drink during pregnancy or before driving; check the label for ingredients and possible allergens.
Sources
- eAmbrosia — EU geographical indications register: Berliner Kümmel (EUGI00000014153), spirit drink, Germany; GI, product category caraway-flavoured spirit drink (with Hamburger and Münchener Kümmel), file PGI-DE-02049, EU protection date 12.06.1989; publications OJ C 316 20.9.2019 and OJ L 37 10.2.2020
- eAmbrosia: technical file 'Berliner Kümmel' (PGI-DE-02049, submitted 19.06.2018, Ref. Ares(2018)3245707): min. 32 % vol.; caraway seeds, distillate or oil; warm (distillation) or cold method; no colourings; produced in Berlin since 1680; Nante song 1833; control body Landeslabor Berlin-Brandenburg
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/179 of 3 February 2020 approving amendments to the specification for the spirit drink registered as the geographical indication 'Berliner Kümmel'
- Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Annex III as at 31.01.2020 (legislation.gov.uk): Germany, 32. Liqueur — Berliner Kümmel, Hamburger Kümmel, Münchener Kümmel, Chiemseer Klosterlikör, Benediktbeurer Klosterlikör, Ettaler Klosterlikör
- Regulation (EU) 2019/787 on spirit drinks, Annex I: cat. 23 caraway-flavoured spirit drink or Kümmel (min. 30 % vol., caraway predominant), cat. 33 liqueur (min. 15 % vol., sugar from 100 g/l)
- WHO/Europe: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (04.01.2023)