Artichoke Elixir – 50ml

Artichoke Elixir in a small apothecary bottle

The Artichoke Elixir is also available as a miniature. The small bottle contains the same herbal bitters that the Jagla family prepares according to a monastic recipe – amber-colored, spicy, with a long finish. Intended for tasting and gifting.

The Artichoke Elixir is presented here in a 50 ml bottle with 35% vol. It is the bitter that started the story of the house of Jagla, bottled in the smallest available quantity. It yields two glasses, which are enough to form an initial opinion without having to commit to a large bottle in the cupboard.

Bold, spicy, and velvety in the finish

The first sip brings the bitter herbs to the fore, followed by a restrained sweetness, and the finish lingers longer than one would expect from an herbal bitter.

The color is a natural amber, achieved without the use of caramel color. Gentian root and centaury provide the bitterness, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and galangal the warmth, while bitter orange peel and juniper add a bright edge. Valerian, camphor, lavender, and a hint of saffron round it out.

Above everything lies the artichoke, which gives the bitter its name. Its leaves provide a clear, almost green bitterness that differs from the earthy note of the roots, making the bitter seem brighter than its color would suggest.

Sip slowly, taste properly

A bitter of this kind is not meant to be downed. Pour 20 ml, let it sit in the glass at about 18 degrees Celsius, and take in the aroma first.

Then roll it slowly in the front of your mouth, as you would at a wine tasting. This allows it to coat the taste buds in sequence, letting the aromas emerge one after the other rather than all at once. Those who just toss it back miss out on half the experience. The same applies on ice, where the sweetness recedes slightly and the herbs stand out more clearly.

The small bottle works particularly well as a small gift. It is unobtrusive but clearly not a standard gift – and those who like it will know exactly what to look for on the shelf afterward. For precise pouring, there is the matching Elixir Dispenser.

It is also great for mixing. For an Artichoke Tonic, use 30 ml of elixir, half a lime, and top up with tonic water to 100 ml. The large bottle is available as Artichoke Elixir in 500 ml, and the root-based alternative as Maca Ginseng Elixir in 50 ml.

Why it is called an elixir and not a liqueur

The name is not a marketing gimmick, but an heirloom. For centuries, elixirs were their own specific dosage form in pharmacies.

The basis for this recipe comes from a 15th-century monastic pharmacy. Back then, monasteries were the places where herbal knowledge was collected, recorded, and passed on – and where one learned to extract the flavors from roots and bark using alcohol, as it absorbs them better than water.

This philosophy has remained. The herbs are cold-macerated by hand in very small batches and then aged for months. The origin, purity, and content of every batch are based on the Pharmacopoea Germanica, the old German pharmacopoeia, according to which the family still works in their Park-Apotheke in Wuppertal.

It is run by Helmut Jagla, the father. The herbal specialties needed to reach beyond the Bergisches Land region, says Christina Jagla, his daughter, regarding her move to Berlin in late 2015. The pharmacy in the Luisenviertel thus became a Berlin-based company, without losing its roots. Today, the bitter is even served in the three-star restaurant Rutz, awarded by Gault&Millau. You can find the entire Dr. Jagla range in the manufacturer's hub.