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Imperial Bitters · 'Das ist ein Unikum!'

Zwack Unicum

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Legend says this bitter black liqueur got its name when the Habsburg emperor took a sip and exclaimed, in German, 'this is unique!'

Unicum is a dark, intensely bitter herbal liqueur made from over 40 herbs, aged in oak casks, and bottled in its distinctive round bottle since Budapest's Zwack family began selling it publicly in 1840. It's traditionally drunk ice-cold as a digestif.

Why it's made this way: Created for the Habsburg imperial court and commercialized in Budapest, Unicum has carried the weight of Hungarian national identity through wars and communist nationalization alike.
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