Sonnema Berenburg
The Frisian herbal bitter you drink neat, with cola or alongside a beer. Everything about the taste, varieties, the kopstoot and the right glass for it.
A Frisian bitter with a recipe from 1860
Sonnema Berenburg is a herbal bitter from Friesland. Fedde Sonnema started making it in Dokkum in 1860, using a recipe that goes back to Amsterdam herbal trader Hendrik Beerenburg, who sold sachets of herbs in the seventeenth century to flavour jenever. Today, Sonnema is made in Bolsward.
The base is neutral alcohol infused with a secret blend of herbs and fruit, including gentian root, orange peel and basil. The result is a brown, herbal bitter at 30% with a firm bite. In Friesland, Berenburg is just as common as jenever; in the rest of the Netherlands, it is mainly known as Sonnema & cola.
In short
What types of Sonnema are there?
Sonnema Berenburg
The classic one-litre bottle with the blue label. Herbal, bittersweet and with a firm bite.
Sonnema 1860
Made with fresh herbs in each batch and a higher herb dosage. Richer, fuller and stronger than the regular version.
Sonnema Oranje Boven
The same Berenburg in an orange bottle for King's Day, the European Championship and other orange-themed celebrations.
Sonnema 50 cl
The smaller bottle for those who enjoy a drink now and then or want to try Sonnema.
Sonnema hip flask
The flat hip flask for on-the-go use, skating or walking. A Frisian tradition.
Sonnema Berenburg & Cola
The most popular ready-to-drink mix in a can. Serve chilled, optionally over ice.
The regular one-liter bottle does it all: neat, with cola and as a kopstoot.
Spicy, bittersweet and with a pronounced bite
Spices & orange peel
A warm spice blend with orange peel, bay leaf and a hint of licorice, with the alcohol clearly present.
Bittersweet and full-bodied
First a light sweetness, followed by the spices and the bitterness of gentian root. Fuller-bodied and drier than Jägermeister.
Long and warming
The bitterness and spices linger, with a warmth that pairs well with a cold winter's day.
Flavor profile of Sonnema Berenburg neat at room temperature. Sonnema 1860 is fuller and spicier.
Three ways to drink Sonnema
Berenburg is a liqueur: you drink it neat from a small glass, chilled or at room temperature. Mixed with cola, it is the quintessential Frisian long drink.
Neat as a shot
Fill a shot glass to the brim, chilled from the refrigerator or at room temperature. In Friesland, it is sipped slowly, not drunk all at once.
Glass: shot glass →Sonnema cola
50 ml Sonnema with 150 ml cola in a highball glass filled with ice, with a lemon wedge. The best-known way to drink Berenburg outside Friesland.
Glass: highball glass →Kopstoot
A shot glass of Berenburg next to a small glass of lager. The shot first, then the beer, or alternating between the two. The Frisian version of the classic kopstoot with Dutch gin.
Go to recipe →Recipes and cocktails with Sonnema
Berenburg is not a cocktail base, but it works surprisingly well in a few classics as a substitute for whisky or vodka.
Kopstoot
A shot glass of Berenburg next to a glass of beer. Not a cocktail, but a tradition.
Berenburg Mule
Replace the vodka in a Moscow Mule with Sonnema: lime, ginger beer and plenty of ice. The herbs and ginger are a perfect match.
Warm Berenburg
Hot water, honey, lemon and a splash of Sonnema instead of whisky. For after ice skating.
All shots
From Berenburg to B52: all shots and liqueurs with the right glass to go with them.The right glass for Sonnema
A true shot glass for neat drinking and the kopstoot, and a long drink glass for Sonnema and cola. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about Sonnema Berenburg
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