KAUFMANN in a bottle
When Axel Kaufmann founded his men's clothing store at the beginning of 1908, he and his wife also planted the first seeds in the ground for their own personal garden. Just like the company's headquarters, the garden is still located in Aarhus today, where it is maintained and renewed by younger generations. In a new collaboration with the Aarhus distillery Njord, the old garden has now provided shoots and flowers for a very special gin that honors the long Kaufmann heritage.
By journalist Pernille Kaufmann. Photo: Courtesy of Njord Distilleries.
Four generations of the same family have now managed the men's clothing business Kaufmann for over 100 years. It goes without saying that many developments occur over so many years. Different personalities pass through, new life circumstances arise, fashion trends come and go, but the old Kaufmann spirit is preserved: The traditions adapt to the spirit of the times but never fundamentally change. One of these traditions is the family's preference for gin – which is why gin & tonic has always been the company's signature drink.
Gin & tonic is a classic drink that is simple yet elegant, thus going hand in hand with Kaufmann's spirit. Just as the company does not stand still, a gin & tonic never tastes exactly the same. It can also evolve over time and reemerge in new flavor nuances. This is precisely the philosophy behind the Aarhus distillery Njord, which was founded ten years ago by Lars Toke Graugaard and Troels Præst Andersen, and which today is located in the Aarhus South Harbor – not far from where Kaufmann's production was established in 1908. Therefore, it sparked when the youngest Kaufmann generation contacted the distillery earlier this year with the wish to create a special Kaufmann gin.
Njord is certainly not a company known for saying yes to producing private label gin.
“Simply because what is often desired is an ordinary and anonymous gin that merely gets a special label with a company name attached. We generally do not wish to be part of that,” says one of Njord Gin's two founders, Lars Toke Graugaard, and continues:
“But no rule without exceptions. Like when someone has a special story they want to tell. Or they present us with some ideas about flavor nuances that are part of the company's DNA.”
That was precisely the case with Kaufmann's inquiry, which stemmed from a hundred-year-long love for gin & tonics and a dream of creating a personal gin that reflects the company's history. It quickly became clear that the Aarhus distillery Njord had the right energy and know-how to fulfill this dream.
Njord is known for creating gin entirely from scratch with herbs and flowers from the Danish nature. When they heard about Kaufmann's garden close to the distillery, where herbs, trees, and flowers that the old Axel Kaufmann planted in the early 1900s still grow, they immediately knew where the flavor notes for the Kaufmann x Njord gin would come from.
Njord Gin
When Lars Toke Graugaard and Troels Præst Andersen met during their studies at Aarhus University, it was initially the academics and the parties that brought them together. But over time, they developed a shared passion for gin. At that time, they experienced that even though there were different gin brands on the market, they all tasted pretty much the same, and none of them were Danish. Gin was a distillate based on grain with flavor added from juniper and a few other traditional herbs.
“When the idea of making our own gin arose, we went out into nature and found herbs and berries. And then we stood at home in the kitchen and extracted the flavor with vodka. A kind of 'compound gin' if you will. That was the first attempt to explore the world of gin,” says Troels Præst Andersen.
Today, the gin enthusiasm of the two friends has evolved from a hobby into a full-time job and their own business. The Njord distillery is now located in an old pump house on Kalkværksvej in Aarhus' South Harbor, and in the hall where the pumps once stood, now stands Frau Müller: namely, Njord's distillation equipment. The equipment consists of a custom-made copper dome with a column distillator and a steam infusion basket that captures the fine flavor nuances from herbs, berries, and flowers. Additionally, there is a vacuum distillator used for the many small-scale flavor tests. Playing with nature's flavors and aromas is simply what has the friends' interest and primary focus.
“We have always experimented with many different and untraditional herbs, berries, and flowers. Right from the beginning, we experimented with flavoring agents like wood sorrel, rowan berries, rose hips, and sugar kelp, which we still use today. And both back then and now, we based some of our gins on distillates made from, for example, potatoes, as known from old Danish schnapps types, and from malted barley, as known from whisky,” says Lars Toke Graugaard.
At Njord, it is essential that the gin takes inspiration from the local and regional nature and captures the flavor of the place it comes from. The hallmark of Njord's gins is therefore flavor nuances that are a bit more complex and untraditional than many of the large, well-known gin brands. Njord thus targets customers who not only want a refreshing drink but also appreciate intense flavor experiences. “But our goal is, of course, that three out of four also become happy with what they taste,” adds Lars Toke Graugaard.
Kaufmann's Herbs
Last spring, when the old Kaufmann garden was in full bloom, the two founders of Njord went out to pick the shoots and flowers that would give Kaufmann x Njord gin its flavor. Here, they found among other things an old variety of rhubarb, apple and cherry trees, spruce, and shoots from the very special tree Ginkgo biloba. With this harvest, they returned to the distillery in the South Harbor and began experimenting.
The gin was – as the company's style – meant to be fundamentally classic, but with a modern twist. The main ingredient is, of course, still juniper, as the law prescribes, while the harvest from the Kaufmann garden adds floral flavor nuances. Regarding the collaboration, Lars Toke Graugaard says:
“Together, we have created a gin where the distillation includes flowers from both the garden's apple and cherry trees, which contribute fine floral and sweet notes. But not too overwhelming, as Kaufmann also represents a classic style. Most interesting may be the fresh shoots from the Ginkgo biloba tree, which add an elegant spring-fresh herbal quality to the flavor.”
The gin Kaufmann x Njord is the spirit of Kaufmann bottled.
It is an exclusive gin, existing in only 329 bottles.