Das ist ein unikum! This is how Emperor Joseph II of Habsburg exclaimed when he tasted this herbal balsam, which was presented to him by a court physician from the Zwack family, as a cure for gastric upset.
For more than 200 years, the recipe has been kept secret, after all, the inventor specifically ordered many ingredients from all over the world, the exact names and proportions kept secret to this day, so that it would be impossible for competitors to repeat its composition. They also cheated when purchasing, ordering more of what they needed in order to mislead cunning minds. The secrecy continued during the nationalization, because Bela Zwak passed on a fake recipe, and although the drink was produced under the name Unicum, it was not the original. It is known that more than forty components were included in it, most of them are medicinal herbs (and they have not bothered anyone yet). One part of these herbs is insisted on alcohol for a short time, the other is aged for a month, after which both parts are mixed and aged in oak barrels for six months.
At first, the liquor was sold only in pharmacies, and the shape resembling a flask is not accidental. According to Plato's philosophy, the ball symbolizes perfection and the drink is also perfect. The label originally featured a red cross on a white background, so from 1899 the company paid the Hungarian Red Cross Society every year for the right to use this logo. However, after 1922 this arrangement was terminated, then the color of the cross was changed to gold and the background color to red. Unicum is a "hungaricum", that is, a truly Hungarian, national drink.
The strength of the drink is 40%, which is why it is served as an aperitif, in its pure form, at room temperature. You can try it by buying a bottle in any store in Hungary or by visiting our tour of the Zwack factory. We are sure you will love this museum!
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