History
In 1964 - when Harold Wilson first became Prime Minister of Great Britain and an ordinary postage stamp cost 3 old pence - GAMMEL DANSK Bitter Dram saw the light of day for the first time.
The success story actually started three years earlier, however, when J.K. Asmund, factory manager for Danish Distillers, and his employees started experiments for making the perfect bitters solely from natural products. One spring day in 1964, they succeeded in finding just the right blend: 29 different spices, berries and roots steeped in 38% neutral spirit for three months.
The original label, the wording of which is prohibited in Sweden, reads "hits the spot in the morning, after a day's work, while hunting, on fishing trips or as an apéritif." And it is no secret that GAMMEL DANSK is a traditional drink in many clubs and at home with the family it is served at room temperature in small solid glasses. As in Malmö, Sweden, for example, where enthusiasts took the initiative to found a club centred on GAMMEL DANSK: The Society for Friends of Gammel Dansk (Selskabet Gammel-danskens Vänner). The club strives "in general to create a highly cultured gathering and in particular to spread knowledge about and make it easier to buy GAMMEL DANSK in Sweden." Today, this society has 10 members, and there are twenty similar clubs in Scandinavia.
GAMMEL DANSK is enjoyed and served whenever and wherever people get together, and a little dram works wonders. This degree of popularity means that a bottle of GAMMEL DANSK is seldom allowed to remain more than six months on the shelf. If it does happen however, or if the bottle is stored at temperatures that are too low or in direct sunlight, the natural ingredients will form a little sediment and cloud the liquid.
The story ends with the fact that GAMMEL DANSK is currently the second best-selling spirit in Denmark - more than four million litres are filled every year in the characteristic bottles - and exports are steadily increasing. GAMMEL DANSK has remained true to its origins and still tastes as good as it did when it was born in 1964.
