89Süd Organic Green Herb Syrup Essence. Organic syrup essence made from mint, lemon balm, tarragon, geranium, and ground elder – fresh, green, and alcohol-free, for spritzers and gin.
89Süd Organic Green Herb Syrup Essence is an organic syrup essence from the 89Süd manufactory in Waldkirch, Bavarian Swabia: an extract of garden herbs such as mint, lemon balm, tarragon, geranium, and ground elder, sweetened with organic sugar. Alcohol-free and vegan, 330 ml in a swing-top bottle. Not a classic syrup, no instant powder, no added flavorings – a concentrate that you top up with water, tonic, or gin.
Green Herb Syrup Essence by 89Süd is what Flora and Christoph Nieß call a stroll through the garden in a bottle. The herbs for it grow right on their premises and are added to the essence as a concentrated extract. The word essence was chosen deliberately: compared to conventional syrup, the manufacturer states it contains significantly less sugar and instead the highest possible concentration of raw ingredients. This is why it is highly dilutable – one part essence to eight or nine parts water makes a spritzer, meaning the 330 ml bottle yields around three liters. You may know mint and lemon balm from herbal tea, and tarragon from the kitchen. Geranium and ground elder are the surprises in this bottle: the scented geranium adds a floral note, while the ground elder provides the green tartness of a wild herb that is considered a weed in most gardens. Together, this creates an essence that tastes of a summer garden and finds its best partner in gin.
Mint and lemon balm at the forefront, tarragon, geranium, and ground elder behind them
The Green Herb Syrup Essence first tastes of mint and lemon balm: cool, citrusy, and fresh, like a bouquet of herbs that has just been cut. Behind them follow the unusual partners that the manufacturer has chosen for this variety.
Tarragon brings a fine anise note that makes the sip spicy. The scented geranium layers a floral trace over it that is reminiscent of rose petals, and the ground elder provides the green, slightly tart base that holds everything together. Diluted with water, it becomes an herbal lemonade that is more dry than sweet – light green in the glass, with a scent that smells of the garden even before the first sip.
Anyone expecting a sweet woodruff or mint lemonade will find the essence tart and spicy. It is the bottle for people who like herbs in their glass the way others like fruit – and for everyone who wants to add a second layer to their Gin and Tonic.
Spritzer, Gin and Tonic, white wine spritzer: one part essence to eight or nine parts
The simplest version is the spritzer: one part essence to eight or nine parts cold mineral water, ice cubes, a sprig of mint. This turns the essence into an herbal lemonade for the balcony and an alcohol-free alternative in the evening when others are drinking gin. With plenty of carbonation in the water, the mint and lemon balm stand out most clearly; still water makes the herbs appear softer.
The manufacturer explicitly highlights the variety as a mix with gin. For this, add a dash of essence to your Gin and Tonic or mix gin, essence, and soda into a long drink – the herbs from the bottle meet the botanicals in the gin, and both reinforce each other. Tonic water on its own can also handle a dash: the bitterness of the tonic and the herbs create a drink that tastes like a home bar while remaining alcohol-free. In white wine or a white wine spritzer, the essence adds a green herbal note that suits a light summer wine; it also works as an herbal component in other mixed drinks.
Store the bottle in a cool, dark place. Once opened, it should be kept in the refrigerator and used up promptly; the manufacturer does not specify a deadline for this.
Our tip: 4 cl gin, 2 cl Green Herb essence, top up with soda, a slice of cucumber, and a sprig of lemon balm in the glass – a long drink that remains drier than any Gin and Tonic and smells of an herb garden.
Herbs from their own cultivation, in mixed crops in Waldkirch
The herbs for this essence come from their own cultivation: Flora and Christoph Nieß grow them in Waldkirch, a district of Winterbach in the Günzburg district of Bavarian Swabia. Fruit, herbs, flowers, and vegetables mostly grow there in mixed cultures, and on their own land, variety is important to both of them, which also offers something for bees and insects.
They are boiled down and bottled when the herbs have reached their ideal harvest time. Everything passes through their hands, from cultivation to bottling to the label, the illustration of which Flora Nieß draws herself. Since summer 2020, the essences have been officially organic certified, inspection body DE-ÖKO-006; the herbs and sugar in this bottle come from organic farming. All varieties are vegan and alcohol-free; according to the manufacturer, flavor enhancers are strictly taboo.
The fact that ground elder, a wild herb, is included in the recipe fits this way of working. Gardeners pull it out; here, it is harvested and brought into the bottle – together with scented geranium and tarragon, which are rarely found on any beverage shelf. This essence is therefore the variety that most clearly shows where the manufactory comes from: a garden where many things grow side by side and where every plant has its place.
For gin fans, garden lovers, and guests drinking alcohol-free
The Green Herb Syrup Essence is for anyone who wants to take charge of their Gin and Tonic themselves and add an herbal note from the garden instead of the bottle. It fits in the home bar, on the balcony table in summer, and as a gift for people who enjoy growing herbs and are happy when ground elder means something good for once.
If you prefer the tart direction, choose the Hop-Lemon Balm Syrup Essence with the bitterness of hops; if you prefer something more floral, reach for the Lavender-Elderberry Syrup Essence. You can find all seven varieties on our 89Süd page, and other concentrates in the Syrup category. The essence is not suitable for those expecting a sweet fruit lemonade – it remains green, spicy, and rather dry, even with tonic.
Mint, lemon balm, tarragon, geranium, and ground elder from their own garden in Bavarian Swabia – the alcohol-free organic syrup essence for herbal spritzers and Gin and Tonic.
