Goldwasser or Danziger Goldwasser (lit. 'Gold water from Danzig'), , with ''Goldwasser'' as the registered tradename, is a strong (40%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

) root and herbal

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

which was produced from 1598 to 2009 in

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

(). Production now takes place in Germany. The most prominent characteristic of the drink is small flakes of 23

karat The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardn ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

suspended in it. The beverage also includes herbs and spices such as

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or fragrance in consumer products, ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...

thyme Thyme () is a culinary herb consisting of the dried aerial parts of some members of the genus ''Thymus (plant), Thymus'' of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are native to Eurasia and north Africa. Thymes have culinary, medici ...

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

and

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

, and has a syrupy texture. Alcoholic solutions were used by artists for

gilding Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

, which is believed to be the inspiration for the drink.

Alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

, which was at its high point in the late 16th century when Goldwasser appeared, held gold to have many desirable medical properties; while modern medicine disputes this,

native gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal, a group ...

is known to be non-toxic to humans and to pass through the digestive tract unchanged, unlike most other heavy metals. Since the flakes are extremely small and thin, the price is not prohibitive. When used as a

food additive Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance taste, appearance, or other sensory qualities. Some additives, such as vinegar ( pickling), salt ( salting), smoke ( smoking) and sugar ( crystallization), have been used f ...

, gold is labelled as E175; see ''List of food additives,'' Codex Alimentarius. The drink was invented by a Dutchman from

De Lier De Lier () is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Westland. Geography De Lier lies about 5 km north of Maassluis, and is about below sea level. The village got its name from the name of a ...

, Ambrosius Vermeulen who moved to Poland and became a

citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

of Danzig on 6 July 1598. In 1704 Ambrosius' grandson Salomon Vermöllen and his brother-in-law Isaac Wed-Ling moved production to new premises located in the ''Breitgasse''. At that time it was common for houses to use animal symbols instead of numbers, and the new factory featured a salmon () on the façade; hence the naming of the brand " Der Lachs zu Danzig". During his trip to Western Europe — the so-called

Grand Embassy The Grand Embassy () was a Russian diplomatic mission to Western Europe from 9 March 1697 to 25 August 1698 led by Peter the Great. Description In 1697 and 1698, Peter the Great embarked on his Grand Embassy. The primary goal of the mission was ...

— Russian Tsar

Peter I the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, Pe ...

visited the city of Danzig. He founded the official Russian consulate in Danzig and became a great lover of Goldwasser. He ordered permanent delivery of Goldwasser to Russia for himself. As the

Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (; ) was a city-state under the protection and oversight of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) and nearly 200 other small localities in the surrou ...

was separated from Germany after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

by the

Polish corridor The Polish Corridor (; ), also known as the Pomeranian Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia (Pomeranian Voivodeship, Eastern Pomerania), which provided the Second Polish Republic with access to the Baltic Sea, thus d ...

, the ''Der Lachs'' company opened in 1922 an additional factory in Berlin to supply the main part of Germany and international markets with their products ''Goldwasser'' and '' Krambambuli'' from there. After 1945, when the city again became part of Poland, only the Berlin factory continued to produce genuine ''Danziger Goldwasser''. In 1971 ''Der Lachs'' was taken over by the

Hardenberg-Wilthen Hardenberg Wilthen AG is a distillery in Nörten-Hardenberg and Wilthen, Germany. It produces Korn and a number of other liquors. The company ranks as Germany's second largest liquor producer. History Hardenberg Wilthen has been owned and manage ...

distillery and production was moved to the town of

Nörten-Hardenberg Nörten-Hardenberg ( Eastphalian: ''Nörten-Harenbarg'') is a municipality in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography It is situated on the river Leine, approx. 10 km southwest of Northeim, and 10 km north of ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

It is possible to buy the original brand of ''Goldwasser'' in the old town of Gdańsk. The original Goldwasser distillery building, though not operational, has been rebuilt as it was before the war, and is now home to the exclusive restaurant "Pod Łososiem" (The Salmon). Various Polish brands from Gdańsk sell similar drinks called ''Gdańska Złotówka'' (Gdańsk gold) or ''Złota Woda'' (Gold water). Wódka Gdańska is mentioned by the Polish-Lithuanian poet, Adam Mickiewicz, as a drink popular with the Polish nobility. Legend has it that when King of Poland

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

visited Danzig in 1549 after his coronation, part of the city's homage to the monarch was a gift of Goldwasser, and he is said to have sung the praises of the golden drink often along the rest of his tour. Another brand of Goldwasser, ''Schwabacher Goldwasser'', and other sorts of food embellished with gold, are produced in the city of

Schwabach Schwabach () is a German city of about 40,000 inhabitants near Nuremberg in the centre of the region of Franconia in the north of Bavaria. Together with the neighboring cities of Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen, Schwabach forms one of the three me ...

near Nuremberg.

Goldschläger Goldschläger is a Swiss cinnamon schnapps (43.5% alcohol by volume or 87 proof; originally it was 53.5% alcohol or 107 proof), a liqueur with very thin, yet visible flakes of 24-karat gold floating in it. The actual amount of gold has been meas ...

is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

schnapps Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to ...

which also contains small flakes of 22 karat gold. Goldwasser is used to flavour Soufflé Rothschild.

References

External links

Goldwasser
on Gdansk-life.com

{{Gdańsk Gdańsk German brands German distilled drinks German liqueurs Polish liqueurs Herbal liqueurs