Kamm & Sons, The New Spirit of London
It takes a whole lot of chutzpah to go it alone and create your own spirit to sell in an already overcrowded market. Some might even call it foolishness. Not us though.
We have nothing but admiration for anyone who devotes five years of research and all their savings to get a product off the ground. And the fact that said spirit is as far away from yet another gin or vodka as you’re likely to get, is even more of a reason for maximum respect.
Let’s hear it for Alex Kammerling, creator of Kamm & Sons, a new forward-looking spirit which is inspired by the alcohol-infused medicines from the past.
“Drinks used to be promoted as being good for your health,” said Kammerling, a former barman and self-confessed drinks boffin, at his Kamm & Sons talk and tasting held rather fittingly at the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in London yesterday.
“Why was alcohol good for you before and not any more? With this in mind, I was inspired to create a better drink, one that incorporated natural botanicals and ingredients renowned for their medicinal properties.”
Four types of ginseng, goji berries, Echinacea, ginkgo biloba, fresh grapefruit peels and manuka honey are just a fraction of the 45 botanicals packed into the medicine bottle marked ‘Kamm & Sons’. It’s also blended to a lighter 33% abv in contrast to the heftier 40% or more found in your average bottle of alcohol.
“I’ve created hundreds of cocktails over the years,” says Kammerling of his 18 years as a bartender and Brand Ambassador for Grey Goose vodka. “However, the creation of my own spirit has been the most exciting.”
Which is exactly the word we choose to describe the drink which, although distilled and bottled in London, has a taste of Italy about it. Think Campari or Aperol with an extra kick. Sip it over ice to fully appreciate the bitters effect or in one of the fab cocktails featured on the website.
For full stockist details and recipes, tap into www.kammandsons.com
