Boonekamp is an old Dutch digestive bitter. It is usually sold in small 2cl mini bottles and is consumed over a heavy meal to improve digestion. The ingredients are at least anise, coriander seeds, cinnamon and star anise. There are between 39 and 52 herbs, roots, spices and flowers used in total. The product can contain only 3g of sugar per liter, so it is clearly drier than herbal liqueurs. Boonekamp (pharmacy in Dutch) was developed at the end of the 18th century, when it was developed by an unknown pharmacist by mixing Genever and various herbs. The production of this style of herbal drink quickly spread to Holland and Belgium.Boonekamp was preserved as a name to refer to this style of digestive bitters. When it spread to Germany, was developed Underberg, which is a brand that has remained in production to this day.
Wildbrunner Boonekamp is produced by the German company Rola Spirits GmbH. Rola was founded right after the Second World War, in 1946. The company got its name from its hometown, Rottenburg an der Laaber. Rola produces a large number of different alcohols, from almost all product groups. They are not well-known in the Nordic or Baltics, because the company focuses only on German-speaking Europe. Wildbrunner is sold at least by Lidl, which has set them close to counters, next to chocolate bars and other lure products. 3×2 cl packaging cost €2.79.
Boonekamp has the color of a traditional herbal liqueur, it’s dark brown. The nose is pleasantly herbal and slightly sweet. Licorice root or anise are the first to notice. The taste is strong and herbal. There is a little sweetness, but clearly less than in herbal liqueurs usually. Bitterness is very moderate, the strong alcohol rate and dry overall appearance make the strongest punch to face. The herbal and slightly bitter taste remains in the mouth for a long time. Boonekamp is quite easy to sip and it is way less bitter than Fernet-Branka. A couple of centiliters is actually quite a good dose and it does its job to boost digestion. You wouldn’t even want to drink more than that at once.
85/100
