Goldwasser is the most famous drink from Gdańsk. The recipe for the liqueur with gold flakes was created by a Mennonite who settled in Gdańsk.
Who was Ambrosius Vermoellen?
At the end of the XVIth century, he came to Gdansk from the Netherlands, seeking refuge from the overpopulation and religious persecution that plagued his homeland. Ambrosius Vermoellen was a Mennonite, a member of a radical current of Protestantism, which was particularly cruelly combated by the Counter-Reformation. He brought to Gdansk the recipes for several drinks that were to become a part of the Gdansk culinary landscape for centuries. Ambrosius settled in Gdansk and began producing liqueurs, among which, apart from the “golden water”, there were others such as Kurfürsten, Pommeranzen and Krambambuli.
Over time, Ambrosius’ descendants placed a liqueur factory on Szeroka Street, in a house which facade was decorated with a sculpture of a salmon. The fish became an emblem and gave its name to the family business. Der Lachs – or Salmon – quickly became a tycoon on the Gdansk alcohol market, and the fame of its products soon crossed national borders.
Goldwasser, photo: Goldwasser Restaurant
Legends
Over the years, the liqueur became a legendary drink, its creation explained by a legend that is repeated to this day.
Despite the merits of the Dutch immigrant, people eventually began to tell the story that Goldwasser was created with the participation of the god of the seas himself, Neptune. According to the legend, the ruler of the seas, irritated by the practice of throwing coins into the fountain, stirred up the water with his trident, which broke the gold coins into flakes, and the water miraculously became a delicious liqueur. The first to notice what was happening was one of the merchants, who ordered his servants to fill all the barrels he could with the “water” flowing from the fountain. Barrels full of the golden liqueur, hidden in deep cellars, thus became a source of income for him and many generations of his descendants.
The company founded by Vermoellen operated in Gdansk until the end of World War II, with its headquarters still in the house on Szeroka Street with a golden salmon on the facade. Despite the war damage, the house was rebuilt and a restaurant cultivating the tradition of the place “Pod Lososiem” has been operating there for a long time, but recently it has been closed. In Gdansk, you can order the liqueur in various restaurants and taste it while looking at the gold flakes floating in it.
How to prepare it?
Although the exact recipe for golden vodka is a mystery, we find information about the ingredients of this aromatic and thick drink in old records.
Ingredients: 1 pack of Bardian (star anise), cardamom, cloves, cinnamon bark, peppermint, nutmeg, rosemary, lemon balm, coriander, orange peel, lemon peel, spirit, 1 liter of vodka, 1 glass of cognac, 2 glasses of sugar, boiling water, gold flakes.
Preparation:
Pour out a glass from 0.5 l of vodka and top up the remaining vodka with a glass of spirit. Pound the spices and fruit peels in a mortar. Pour the prepared mixture over it and leave to macerate for 4 days. Dissolve the sugar in hot water, add 0.5 l of vodka, cognac and mix. Pour the spice mixture into the prepared mixture, at your discretion. Add gold flakes. Set aside for a while.
