By Sacha Delfosse – editor bars&clubs
Vanguard Luxury Brands has recently added two new products to its expanding portfolio – Kuemmerling herbal liqueur and Absinthe Mansinthe.
Hailing from Germany, Kuemmerling (owned by Henkell and Sohnlein) was conceived in 1938 by a travelling chemist named Hugo Kuemmerling. It is still made using the same original recipe, which includes angelica, crisped mint, pimento, liquorice, wormwood, resin of guaiac, cinnamon bark and calamus.
“This brand is all about fun. It is only available in little 20ml bottles (35 per cent alcohol) and there’s an entire ritual surrounding its consumption. Every bottle has a number between 1 and 99 moulded into the bottom of the bottle,” said Vanguard Luxury Brands director, James France.
“First, you tap the bottle on the bar, then drink it, after which you turn it over. Whoever has the highest number pays for the round. There are also a myriad of uses for the empty bottles and some people have made really quite amazing artworks from them.”
Vanguard Luxury Brands has also taken over the distribution of Absinthe Mansinthe, which was developed by Marilyn Manson in conjunction with Oliver Matter and Markus Lion. Manson said he was inspired to create Absinthe Mansinthe after spending New Year’s Eve in 1999 drinking absinthe with Johnny Depp.
Launched in 2007 and made in Switzerland, Absinthe Mansinthe is a naturally green coloured absinthe, made without any artificial ingredients, colour or sugar, bottled with an ABV of 66.6 per cent.