NIKOLASCHKA

Nikolaschka: Germany's Unique Cognac and Lemon Ritual

This cocktail was born in Hamburg, Germany.(COCKTAILLOG) Nikolaschka is a German after-dinner drink made by pouring cognac into a snifter glass which is topped with a lemon disk, sugar, and powdered coffee. (TasteAtlas) Unlike traditional cocktails, the Nikolaschka is consumed through a unique ritual.

It is a cocktail that is mixed in the mouth to form a cocktail, with the drinker first folding the lemon with sugar on top of the glass in half, then biting into the lemon in their mouth COCKTAILLOG. When the sweet and sour flavor spreads in the mouth, brandy is poured into the mouth, and it becomes a brandy sour in the mouth COCKTAILLOG.

The cocktail is consumed by drinking the cognac, then eating the lemon with sugar and coffee TasteAtlas. This interactive preparation transforms the drinking experience into a participatory event. The name likely reflects Eastern European or Russian influences, though its German origins in Hamburg are well documented. The Nikolaschka remains a distinctive after-dinner tradition.

RECIPE:

1½ oz cognac

1 lemon slice, peeled

1 tsp powdered sugar

1 tsp ground coffee

Method:

1. Pour cognac into brandy snifter

2. Place peeled lemon slice across top of glass

3. Sprinkle half the lemon with powdered sugar

4. Sprinkle other half with ground coffee

5. Fold lemon, bite into mouth, then drink cognac