Gammel Dansk is a

bitters Bitters (plural also ''bitters'') is traditionally an alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter for a bitter or bittersweet flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters were developed as patent medicines, but now are ...

(herbal

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

preparation) produced by Arcus-Gruppen in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, originally developed and produced by

Danish Distillers Danish Distillers ( da, Det Danske Spiritus Kompagni known as ) is a company that was headquartered in Aalborg, Denmark. Isidor Henius, the father of Max Henius, was one of the founders of a company that was acquired by Danish Distillers, which e ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Traditionally it is drunk by Danes at certain festive occasions, often in connection with

breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...

meals, brunch or at wedding anniversaries and birthday celebrations (which in Denmark traditionally begin in the morning). The name "Gammel Dansk" translates directly from

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

as "Old Danish".

Description

Gammel Dansk is a ''

'' liquor and was originally created to become a competitor on the Danish market to other bitters such as

Underberg Underberg is a digestif bitter produced at Rheinberg in Germany by Underberg AG. It is made from aromatic herbs from 43 countries that undergo inspections and are formulated based on a secret recipe of the Underberg family, whose members are p ...

and

Fernet Branca Fernet-Branca () is an Italian brand of fernet, a style of '' amaro'' or bitters. It was formulated in Milan in 1845, and is manufactured there by Fratelli Branca Distillerie. History Fernet-Branca was formulated in Milan in 1845 by a self-ta ...

. It is matured with 29 types of herbs, spices and even flowers, making it similar to other ''stomach bitters'', such as

Peychaud's Bitters Peychaud's Bitters is a bitters distributed by the American Sazerac Company. It was originally created between 1849 and 1857 by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole apothecary from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) who traveled to Ne ...

Jägermeister ( , ; stylized Jägermeiſter) is a German digestif made with 56 herbs and spices. Developed in 1934 by Wilhelm and Curt Mast, it has an alcohol by volume of 35% ( 61 degrees proof, or US 70 proof). The recipe has not changed since its creation ...

. These herbs and spices include

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

berry,

angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and Greenland. They grow t ...

star anise ''Illicium verum'' is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. A spice commonly called star anise, staranise, star anise seed, star aniseed, star of anise, Chinese star anise, or badian that closely resembl ...

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

, yellow

gentian ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their mostl ...

Seville orange Bitter orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the citrus tree ''Citrus'' × ''aurantium'' and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of the world. It is probably a cross bet ...

and

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, breakfa ...

. The complete recipe is kept secret.

History

The development of Gammel Dansk commenced in 1964 and was led by master blender J.K. Asmund who also worked as factory manager for Danish Distillers in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

. Three years later the production of the bitter started, and it has since become one of the most recognizable strong alcoholic beverages on the Danish market. In the Denmark of the 1960s and 1970s, the drinking of bitters, such as Gammel Dansk, was not considered taboo in the morning. The bottle even reads ''Gør godt om morgenen, efter dagens dont, under jagten, på fisketuren eller som apéritif''. ("Will do you good in the morning, after a day's work, when hunting or fishing, or as an apéritif.") With the 1980s came a greater concern for public health, and with that bitters fell out of favor compared to the lower

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

. Even so, Gammel Dansk still constitutes two-thirds of all bitters sold in Denmark. In 2007 Danish Distillers launched a new product which, as a tribute to J.K. Asmund, was labeled Asmund Special. On 14 March 2014,

Arcus Arcus may refer to: Businesses and organizations *ARCUS, the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, supporting Arctic policy in the U.S. *Arcus AS, a Norwegian producer of liquor * Arcus Co., a Bulgarian firearm manufacturer *Arcus Fou ...

, the owners of the Gammel Dansk brand, announced that production would move to Norway. In 2014, Arcus launched ''Gammel Dansk Shot'', a variation over the traditional recipe, flavored with

liquorice Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted. The liqu ...

and chili. It is intended to be drunk as a

shooter Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, Bow and arrow, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or Blowgun, blowpipe). Even the acts of launching Flamethrower, flame, artillery, Dart (missile), darts, ha ...

. In 2019 they launched a less bitter version called "Gammel Dansk Halv bitter", meaning "Half the bitterness" aiming at younger customers. This version is advertised as being more sweet, less bitter and having a higher content of

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

and

licorice Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted. The liq ...

References

External links

Gammel Dansk Bitter Dram official home page
{{Alcoholic drinks Bitters Danish cuisine Pernod Ricard brands Products introduced in 1967

Description

History

See also

References

External links