Kauffman Commentary

In order to make Gin there must be Juniper berries. Other fruits can be added for flavor, even rhubarb after distilling. There are different types of tonic and it does make a difference, either to be sweeter or have a milder sweetness.

On up the hill to another little village called Gudhjem. This is a taste tour, so from gin to Herring. The smoked herring is delicious. We were instructed to put it on the dark bread, add radishes, onions, parsley and uncooked egg yolk on top. I liked it better just plain.

Svaneke, a village known for its brewery was our last taste. We tried three of their beers. One called Magic Dragon was considered a hemp lager. The second was an IPA, called India. The last one was a dark beer created for the Prince’s wedding. It was sweet and pretty lethal at 7.9%. They called it Sweet Mary and it has been very successful with women. This brewery has done quite well for itself and has expanded multiple times. They have a restaurant where they test beers, before mass production, kind of like Boulevard in Kansas City.

During WWII the Bornholm area was occupied by German troops. According to our guide they did not cause any problems and basically left folks well enough alone. When the war ended the Germans in Bornholm did not get word that the war was over. The Russians came in and bombed the city supposedly to get the Germans out. Needless to say the Bornholm people don’t care much for the Russians.

Since parts of the villages were destroyed the Swedish and Americans came in to help. The Swedish built wooden houses and the US paid for much of the supplies. The houses are all different colors and cost about $250,000 today.

The Demark and Swedish military have been taking part in practice drills to prepare for any Russian conflict. The Russians have been flying planes over this area and the two F16’s that are stationed here escort them out.