Pay the Man – Stork Club Aromatic Rye Korn & Gölles Edelbitter

Every once and a while it is time for a change! To celebrate the new look here on the blog, I made a Boulevardier style cocktail. Apart from that, it seems like the traditional German spirit korn is again in high demand. When paired with a great bitter liqueur like the Gölles Edelbitter, the resulting drink is quite enjoyable.

I thought about making a few changes here on the blog for a while now. It took some time, but finally I am happy with the results and want to share a new way of presenting my cocktails with you. It might be less individual than before, but I hope you enjoy it, too! – Cheers!

The Aromatic Rye Korn is distilled at the Spreewood Distillery 60 km south of Berlin. The mash is made from a blend of two spirits from German rye, a unmalted “bold & spicy” and another “sweet & mellow” spirit from rye malt. The grains are milled on sight in a hammer mill. After fermentation, the distillation is done on a 1000 l copper hybrid-still. Afterwards the spirit ages in stainless steel tanks for a certain amount of time.

Fruity rye eau de vie

The first thing you notice about the Storck Club Aromatic Rye Korn is its fruity taste. There are overripe apple and pear notes. On the second taste you sense a strong cereal and grain note. Of course, you notice certain menthol notes, but they are well integrated.

Bitter green walnuts

The Gölles Edelbitter is made from green walnuts, gentian root, centaury, tormentill and around fifteen local herbs. The liqueur ages for one year in a demijohn. The Edelbitter has a noticeable bitterness without being overwhelming. However, on a second glance you notice a lot of other complex flavours of herbs and spices.

Not a Negroni variation!

If you are an avid reader of my blog, you might notice that I love Negronis and their variations. However, this drink, although it might sound like one, is actually a Boulevardier variation. I swapped the whiskey base for the Aromatic Rye Korn and the Campari for the Edelbitter. However, I still kept the proportions the way I would make a Boulevardier. Concerning the vermouth, I also made a minor change and used rosé vermouth from Belsazar instead of a red vermouth. I thought that the drink without the heavier oak notes from a whiskey could use a lighter style fortified wine.

The drink is clearly influenced by the fruity notes of the korn. However, the green walnuts and spices of the Edelbitter also work quite nicely. Of course, the drink lacks complex oak and aged whiskey notes. However, this further underlines the fruitiness of the korn. The vermouth forms a base for the other flavours to stand on, but it also adds fruity and slightly floral notes. This rather well balanced drink is the right choice for the times when a full-on Boulevardier is just too bitter and strong.

*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product.