Wild Things – Spiritus Rex Krete

Chances are high that you have never heard of damsons and greengages. Well, then you have to brace yourself for the spirit I am introducing to you today. This wild plum variety is so scarce that even experts are fighting about the right classification. Nevertheless, Matthias Sievert got his hands on some of these plums in 2016 and he distilled one hell of an eau de vie from it.

Matthias Sievert is always on the quest for rare and almost extinct fruit varieties. In this case, the Krete a neglected wild plum variety which is said to be a damson. However, I highly doubt that the fruit in question really is a damson. On one hand, damsons are rare, but not that uncommon here in Southern Germany. On the other hand,  there are some descriptions of the plum that sound very different from your average damson. These characterizations range from the Krete having a cherry stone, or a more reddish colour to resembling a sloe berry. To complete the confusion the “Prunus Prisca” printed on the label is the zibarte. However, in the English Wikipedia under “Prunus domestica subspecies insititia” you can find “krieche” and “kroosjes” which sound a lot like the aforementioned Krete. Besides all of this hair-splitting, Matthias picked the plums in 2016 near Eutin, which at the same time was the last year the bushes carried fruits. The eau de vie is bottled at an ABV of 42 %.

STONE FRUITS!

Well, what can I say about this eau de vie? It probably is the best stone fruit eau de vie I have tried so far – besides the great Capreolus Eau de Vies perhaps. However, where the Capreolus Damson eau de vie is very refined and floral the Krete has powerful plum and stone fruit notes. Furthermore, the wild plum eau de vie has noticeable, but not overwhelming marzipan notes. I enjoyed it very much, but if you are not a fan of stone fruit eau de vies the Krete almost can be too much for you.

A spiced Old-Fashioned

Yes, I know that it is almost a sacrilege to mix with such a high quality spirit. Though, I tried to still honour the ingredient and keep an overall balance in the cocktail. Usually, I do this by just adding a bit of high-quality eau de vie to a cocktail, as you can see done here with the Spiritus Rex Blood Orange Eau de Vie. This time I was feeling a bit more ostentatious and used the Krete Eau de Vie as the base spirit. Apart from that, I added Whiskey Barrel Bitters, because their cinnamon note goes very well with plum eau de vies, a little absinthe and a home-made spice syrup. You can basically add any Christmassy spices to the syrup you like and this time I went for anise, allspice, cacao nibs, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander seeds, macis and a little black pepper. I quickly roast the spices in a pan without oil before adding them to the sugar and water mix in a pot (2:1). You can also use this syrup to make hot punches and mulled wine.

*Roast 2 g anise, six allspice berries, five cacao nibs, a cardamom pod, two cinnamon sticks, eight coriander seeds, two macis and four black pepper corns in a pan without oil – let cool and blend in a food processor – add to a pot containing two parts sugar and one part water – bring to boil – let simmer for a while – filter through a sieve – fill into a clean bottle;

The “Wild Things” is clearly dominated by the plum spirit. Nevertheless, the herbal notes of the absinthe and the spices from the bitters and the syrup nicely compliment the Krete eau de vie. Even though the drink is quite strong, it is at the same time very well-balanced. It almost goes down too easy. Once again the lemon twist is more than just decoration. It lends the drink a little freshness and also underlines the citrus notes of the plum liquor. While I am writing this, I also can imagine the Krete playing an excellent part in a Manhattan cocktail.

*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The Krete Eau de Vie was provided by Spiritus Rex.