Alexandra Bühler follows in the great tradition of explorers. Her expeditions take her to bars around the world. She documents her discoveries of new flavors in detail in her influential blog, “Adventures of the Barstalker.” The cocktail-loving globetrotter came to us with a request for a poppy seed spirit. We contacted Katharina Zott, who runs one of the best distilleries in Germany. Margit Assam grows Alexandra Bühler follows in the great tradition of explorers. Her expeditions take her to bars around the world. She documents her discoveries of new flavors in detail in her influential blog, “Adventures of the Barstalker.” The cocktail-loving globetrotter came to us with a request for a poppy seed spirit. We contacted Katharina Zott, who runs one of the best distilleries in the country. Margit Asam grows poppies in her region. These are ground, macerated, and then distilled. The aroma of this poppy seed spirit alone triggers deep memories and vivid associations in her region. These are ground, macerated, and then distilled. The aroma of this poppy seed spirit alone triggers deep memories and vivid associations.
Nose
nutty | fragrant
Taste
buttery | almond-like | roasted aroma
Finish
spicy | oily | slightly sweet
Ingredients
Poppy Seeds (Papaver somniferum L.) | Neutral Grain Spirit
Preparation
The cultivation of poppies in Germany is strictly regulated and requires a special permit from the Federal Opium Agency. Only a few varieties of so-called blue poppies (Papaver somniferum L., Breadseed poppy) are allowed to be cultivated. A low opiate content is a decisive factor here.
The Asam family from the Wittelsbach region has been farming near Augsburg for several generations. Until a few years ago, their business was primarily focused on livestock farming and the cultivation of animal feed. With increasing bureaucratic requirements and a lack of opportunities for expansion in livestock farming, the family was looking for ways to diversify their offerings. The cultivation of blue poppies not only enabled a new use for their own land, but also opened up the possibility for a completely new product range. The Asams now sell a wide range of poppy products. In addition to the poppy seeds themselves, they also sell oil, poppy seed soap, and poppy seed chocolate.
After sowing in the fall, the blue poppies bloom in early June. Not in red, like the infamous corn poppy, but in bright purple and pink. After the poppy plants have been laboriously threshed, the seeds are carefully cleaned several times. This involves removing any remaining stems and capsules as well as dried, brown seeds. Only the blue seeds contain the characteristic, intense poppy aroma.
The poppies are processed into a spirit at the nearby distillery of Katharina Zott. To do this, the cleaned poppy seeds are first ground. This allows the oils they contain to be ideally dissolved in the wheat distillate during the subsequent maceration. The macerate is then distilled in a copper still. As the poppy seed macerate foams heavily when heated in the still, the distiller must proceed with particular care. Only very slow distillation leads to a good result. After separating the foreshots, Katharina concentrates on the high-quality hearts. The tails are discarded. The heart of the distillation is reduced to 44% alcohol by volume. The result is a perfect spirit that accurately reflects the complex poppy seed aroma.
Ustersbach | Swabia (Bavaria)
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Katharina Zott
Distiller | Ustersbach | Swabia (Bavaria)
Katharina Zott is a Ph.D. oenologist and distiller. After completing her technical college degree in agriculture, she pursued a degree in beverage technology. In order to gain admission to the program at Geisenheim, Katharina completed a pre-internship at wineries in Germany and South Africa. Reflecting on her experiences during that time, she jokingly says, “My heart was lost in wine.” A scholarship allowed her to transfer from the Geisenheim campus to the Department of Viniculture and Enology at the University of California, Davis. There, she noticed that much revolved around the “style” of wine, particularly the “French wine style.” Katharina thought to herself, “Well, I want to see what they want to imitate,” and went to the original setting of this wine stylistic to continue her studies there. She completed her Ph.D. with a biochemical research project at the Institut des Sciences de la Vigne Vine et du Vin at the University of Bordeaux.
Throughout her academic education and research activities, Katharina never lost touch with her family’s agricultural business. In her spare time, she regularly traveled to Ustersbach in Bavarian Swabia to help out on the fruit farm and distillery. Her family has been cultivating fields in this region since 1530. Her parents specialized in fruit growing as part of a massive agricultural structural change in the region. “Inspired by my mother’s homeland, which is located near Lake Constance, my parents decided to focus on fruit cultivation, which is atypical for our region. It all started with raspberries, then sour cherries were planted, and blueberries were grown.” However, Katharina emphasizes that “due to climate change, we have to constantly question the range of varieties today, as the weather has become more extreme.”
Katharina’s passion for flavors and craftsmanship accompanied her from an early age. At the age of 17, she already made her first liqueur, a raspberry liqueur. During her study breaks, she spent most of her time in her father’s distillery. In 2010, she decided to withdraw from research and dedicate herself entirely to the art of distilling. Her brother took over the family’s fruit farm, while Katharina continued to run the distillery. Almost exclusively, she processes the fruit that her family grows. The basis for Katharina’s research in Bordeaux was the wines and yeast cultures of renowned wineries in Saint-Émilion. She was fascinated by how much complexity and terroir character could be extracted from the grapes that, as she says, “grow in a field.” This experience shapes her work as a distiller: “We too can refine what we grow and transport the flavors of the terroir. I’ve made it my mission to bring our terroir to life.”
