🥃 Goldschläger

Goldschläger is a clear cinnamon liqueur in which tiny flakes of real gold leaf float. Its German name means “gold beater”, after the craftsmen who hammered bars of soft gold into wafer-thin sheets. For years the brand belonged to Diageo; since December 2018 it has been owned by the American distiller Sazerac. ⁷⁶

Name and gold. The owner, Sazerac, describes Goldschläger as a cinnamon liqueur with real gold flakes stirred in and explains that the name refers to the gold-leaf makers who beat bars of soft gold into wafer-thin sheets. ⁷ A drinks guide that tasted it in 2012 specifies that the flakes are 24-carat gold leaf held in suspension in the clear liqueur. ¹

Look and taste. In that 2012 tasting the liqueur was crystal clear with small gold flakes. The aroma was a pungent, sweet cinnamon; in the mouth it was syrupy sweet, with cinnamon spice, a fiery chilli-like heat and a prickle of cracked black pepper. The finish was long and hot, again with black pepper and cinnamon. ¹

What the label said. The bottle described in 2012 had 40% alcohol (80° proof), no age statement and a volume of 700 ml with a screw cap. It was labelled as a product of Italy, made by Diageo Operations Italy for the brand owner Diageo. Before buying, check the strength and origin on your own bottle's label. ¹

British distribution. In February 2008 Diageo Great Britain signed an agreement with Global Brands, an independent drinks distributor, which received the exclusive right to sell, distribute and market Goldschläger and Myers's Jamaican dark rum in Great Britain from 15 February 2008. Diageo continued to manufacture the products. ²

Sale to Sazerac. On 12 November 2018 Diageo announced that it had agreed to sell nineteen brands to Sazerac, among them Goldschläger, Seagram's VO, Myers's, Popov and Yukon Jack. Diageo agreed long-term supply contracts for five of the brands, each for ten years, while supply of the others was to pass to Sazerac within a year of completion. ⁵ On 21 December 2018 Diageo announced that the sale was complete. ⁶

A liqueur under EU rules. Although the 2012 bottle was called a cinnamon schnapps liqueur, its owner today presents Goldschläger simply as a cinnamon liqueur. ¹⁷ In the EU a liqueur must have at least 15% alcohol and, in most cases, at least 100 g of sweetening products per litre. ³

Gold under EU law. Gold is the food colour E 175, and among spirit drinks EU rules allow it only in liqueurs, without a fixed maximum. ⁸ In its 2016 re-evaluation the European Food Safety Authority found too few data for a full risk assessment and set no acceptable daily intake, but because elemental gold barely dissolves, it does not expect gold to reach the bloodstream or act on the body as a whole. ⁹

Why it matters to you. The gold is there for looks, not for taste or health: it is a food colour, and EFSA notes that elemental gold hardly dissolves. ⁸⁹ With 40% alcohol on the 2012 label, Goldschläger is far stronger than the 15% minimum for a liqueur, even though it tastes sweet. ¹³ The WHO stresses that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. ⁴