Apple Mallow Elixir – 500ml

Apple Mallow Elixir as a mild liqueur with star anise

The Apple Mallow Elixir is the sweet outlier in the Dr. Jaglas range. Instead of bitter herbs, the focus here is on apples and mallow blossoms, accompanied by licorice, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cardamom, and star anise. A sweet herbal liqueur, awarded by Gault&Millau.

The Apple Mallow Elixir is a dessert liqueur with 25% ABV in a 500 ml apothecary bottle. With significantly less alcohol than the company’s bitters, it is the most accessible product in the Jagla family. If you find herbal bitters too tart, this is the place to start.

Fruity, spicy, and sweet on the finish

First comes the apple, clear and with the acidity of a Boskoop. Then the spices move to the fore, and finally, a warm sweetness with a note of anise remains.

The mallow is the silent partner here. These pink blossoms are otherwise known as tea, but here they provide a gentle acidity and that slightly oriental note that sets this liqueur apart from an ordinary apple liqueur. It is precisely this blossom that gives the elixir its delicate color.

Added to this is a basket of spices such as you might find on the table in winter: licorice for sweetness, cardamom and coriander for bright spice, cinnamon and clove for warmth, and star anise for the finish. Together, this creates a liqueur that tastes sweet without being sticky.

The color comes solely from the ingredients. You will look in vain for caramel coloring, dyes, and preservatives in this bottle, and it is also lactose-free.

Over sorbet, in a spritz, in a cup

The Apple Mallow Elixir is good for more than just sipping neat. Drink it well-chilled at about 8 degrees with ice cubes and a slice of apple in the glass.

The elixir really shines over dessert. Pour 20 ml over lemon sorbet or vanilla ice cream, and a simple scoop becomes a dessert that didn't require any cooking. White chocolate and nuts also pair well with the elixir.

As a spritz, mix it with Prosecco and a dash of soda; as a long drink, with tonic water. And because the spices hold up, it also works warm – a splash in hot apple juice creates a winter drink that comes close to the Mulled Wine Herb Elixir.

To try it out, the Apple Mallow Elixir is available in 50 ml. If you want to explore the bitter side of the house afterwards, reach for the Artichoke Elixir.

From a newspaper insert to a permanent fixture

The liqueur was not originally intended for the shelves. It was created as a special edition for the weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT.

At first, it was only available there for a few weeks and nowhere else. Because the demand persisted, Christina Jagla added it to the range permanently – and Gault&Millau later awarded the elixir. This puts the mildest liqueur of the house on par with the strong bitters.

That the apple, of all things, is the focus is no coincidence. It is the fruit that hangs in every other garden in the Bergisches Land region, and it pairs better with spices than any other. What has always come together in the kitchen finds its way together here in the bottle.

It was developed from the same tradition that lies behind the other elixirs: macerating herbs, fruits, and blossoms in alcohol, as pharmacies have done for centuries. The family works according to pharmaceutical-grade standards, as they are accustomed to in their Park-Apotheke in the Luisenviertel district of Wuppertal, which is run by Helmut Jagla.

The herbal specialties were meant to go beyond the Bergisches Land, says Christina Jagla regarding her move to Berlin at the end of 2015. You can find the entire Dr. Jaglas range in the manufacturer hub.