Extra Healthy Bitter - Kruut Oxymel with Gooseberry

Recipe, Food, Styling & Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald

Mocktailthursday, Thirstythursday, Thirstday….

Let's call it what we want. Here is another quick and healthy non-alcoholic sundowner. Kruut is a manufacturer from Berlin and makes excellent sour honey. The Kruut website states: "Oxymel [Oxy = sour; Mel = honey] is a traditional tincture of raw honey, naturally cloudy apple vinegar and a selection of local wild herbs. Due to the high extraction power of the basic ingredients, the valuable herbal ingredients are preserved in Oxymel. 

Dioscorides already drank the golden Oxymel and the Roman legionaries strengthened themselves with the natural elixir on long journeys. And Hildegard von Bingen also appreciated the recipe. But then it fell into oblivion, especially in our latitudes. Kruut brings the traditional elixir back into our everyday life and repackages a millennia-old recipe."

I opted for the bitter variant, in which the following herbs are processed: Vermouth, andorum, centaurium and peppermint. As the title suggests, the tincture is pleasantly bitter. Mixed with the wonderful gooseberry juice from Van Nahmen, this simple drink fits neatly into the "Italian Bitter" ranks. Grown up! What a deliciously healthy sundowner!