🥃 Goldwasser

Goldwasser (“golden water”) is a spiced herbal liqueur from Gdańsk (Danzig) in which thin flakes of gold leaf float. Its best-known version, Original Danziger Goldwasser, comes from the Der Lachs liqueur factory, which dates the drink to 1606; since 1971 the brand has been majority-owned by the German company Hardenberg-Wilthen. ¹³²

A Mennonite from Brabant. The tourism portal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship traces Pomeranian drinks back to the 16th century, when Ambrosien Vermöllen, a Mennonite from Lier in Brabant, was admitted to the burghers of Gdańsk. He founded the city's first liqueur factory and brought with him the recipe for Goldwasser. ¹ The brand owner dates the factory to 1598 and the invention of Goldwasser to 1606. ³

The salmon sign. In 1704 his descendant Salomon Vermöller moved the firm into a building with a salmon sign, and the factory became known as Der Lachs, German for “the salmon”. ¹ The brand owner explains that houses in the Breitengasse had no numbers at the time, only a symbol carved above the door. ³ In 1971 Hardenberg-Wilthen took a majority stake in Der Lachs, adding Original Danziger Goldwasser and the herbal liqueur Kurfürsten to its range. ²

A city of distillers. According to the regional portal, at the beginning of the 17th century Gdańsk distilled vodka on such a scale that the city ran short of firewood, and from 1620 the authorities issued annual distilling licences. Besides cheap rye vodka, the city made luxury spirits flavoured with herbs and roots: a third distillation gave a spirit of about 70%, which was diluted to about 30%. ¹

From medicine to status. At the end of the Middle Ages spirits were treated as medicines: aniseed against coughs, turmeric and ginger for digestion and warmth. The portal says Vermöllen composed Goldwasser according to 16th-century medical and culinary theories; over time pleasure and social status replaced healing, and in 1767 Empress Catherine II bought Goldwasser for 5,152 guilders. In the 18th century Der Lachs was famous for a range of liqueurs praised together under the name Krambambuli. ¹

Taste and ingredients. The portal describes Goldwasser as a liqueur with a strong spicy taste and smell and a thick consistency in which gold flakes swirl. Broadly, various roots, herbs and a little sandalwood and rosewood were added to a strong aniseed or cognac spirit, which was sweetened with sugar and given thin sheets of gold. ¹ The brand owner says its version contains real 22-carat gold leaf. ³

Slow making and a lost recipe. The authentic 16th-century recipe has not survived; it was probably passed on by word of mouth and refined over time. By the general rules of liqueur making, the roots macerate for about six weeks, distillation takes about two weeks, sugar is worked in over three months and the drink then matures for at least a year. Experts, the portal adds, regard German producers' claims to the original recipe as a publicity stunt. ¹ The brand owner, for its part, says it still distils Goldwasser to the traditional recipe and calls it one of Germany's oldest trademarks. ³

Gold under EU law. As a liqueur, Goldwasser must have at least 15% alcohol and, in most cases, at least 100 g of sweetening products per litre. ⁴ Gold is the food colour E 175, and among spirit drinks EU rules allow it only in liqueurs, with no fixed maximum. ⁶ 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. ⁷

Why it matters to you. The gold flakes are a food colour used for decoration, not a health benefit; EFSA notes that elemental gold hardly dissolves. ⁶⁷ In the glass is a strong, sweet liqueur with at least 15% alcohol and plenty of sugar, so check the label for the exact strength. ⁴ The WHO stresses that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. ⁵