Made to an original Latvian recipe, Kummel Mentzendorff is a classic caraway-based liqueur flavoured with caraway seeds, fennel, orris and other herbs. The origins of this liqueur’s name lie in the generic names for the key spices with which it is flavoured. In German, caraway seed is called Kummel. It’s origins are thought to be Dutch with the Bols family claiming to have produced the first kummel liqueur dating back to the Netherlands in 1575. Today Russia is the largest producer and consumer of Kummel. It is said that Peter the Great was living under a false identity in the Netherlands in 1696 to gain shipbuilding knowledge and having tasted it in 1696 he visited the Bols distillery to see how it was made. It made such an impression that when he returned to Russia he introduced it to his court.