Paula Pumpernickel brings Münsterland desserts into a bottle
The Paula Pumpernickel series from the Feinbrennerei Sasse distillery consists of cream liqueurs, each with 17% ABV: Herrencreme (men’s cream dessert), café au lait, and salted caramel. Two of these recreate Münsterland classics – the festive dessert Herrencreme and the coffee table ritual. They are named after the food blogger who travels through the Münsterland region.
Paula Pumpernickel is the cream liqueur range from the Feinbrennerei Sasse in Schöppingen, created in cooperation with the "Münsterland-Siegel" (Münsterland Seal). Herrencreme, café au lait, and salted caramel are each available with 17% ABV in 700-milliliter bottles, with the Herrencreme also available in 200 milliliters. A miniature set includes six 20-milliliter bottles, covering all three varieties. Milk is listed as an allergen on the label for all of them.
Most liqueur lines invent flavors. This one remembers them – remembering what used to be on the table in the Münsterland region on Sundays, before anyone had the idea to put it into a bottle.
Who Paula Pumpernickel is
Behind the name is a food blogger who travels the entire Münsterland region and takes a look behind the scenes at paulapumpernickel.com.
She has visited more than 80 farms and restaurants for this purpose: she shows how products are made and introduces the people who ensure there is so much good food in the region – from fruit and vegetables to meat, eggs, and dairy products, to beer and spirits. The blog focuses on regional, seasonal food and the stories behind it.
The connection to the distillery is older than the liqueur line. The Feinbrennerei Sasse was one of the founding members of the Münsterland-Siegel in 2009, the association whose members Paula Pumpernickel visits. Since 2021, there has also been this cooperation between the association and the distillery in Schöppingen – as Sasse describes it themselves.
This explains why the series sounds the way it does. Anyone who has spent years driving around the farms and kitchens of a region does not come back with a list of trends, but with what people actually eat there.
Herrencreme, the festive dessert
The Herrencreme is the reason this series exists – and outside of Westphalia, almost no one knows it.
The original is a dessert: vanilla cream, whipped cream, grated block chocolate, and a dash of rum, served in a glass bowl and placed on the table for holidays. The liqueur recreates exactly that – real vanilla, cream, block chocolate, and overseas rum.
Anyone who grew up with it will recognize it from the first sip. Anyone who didn't will get to know a piece of Westphalian cuisine here without ever having to pick up a spoon. This is the only variety in the series also available in the small 200-milliliter bottle – as a gift for someone who understands the story behind it.
The rum carries the vanilla and gives the cream an edge – in the dessert as well as in the liqueur. In the original, the block chocolate is grated and folded into the cream, and it is also on the ingredient list for the liqueur. Such details determine whether a reproduction works as a tribute or merely as an assertion.
It is remarkable in itself that this liqueur exists. Herrencreme is a dessert that you either know or you don't – a brand that takes it to the national market is betting that origin is more interesting than familiarity.
Café au lait and the Westphalian coffee table
The Milchkaffee (café au lait) quotes an institution: the coffee table, where the afternoon is not about the coffee, but about staying seated.
Strong coffee meets creamy milk, rounded off with a dash of spirits – creamy, roasty, milky. It tastes like the afternoon when the cake is all gone but nobody gets up anyway.
Practically, it is the most versatile in the series: added to an espresso, it replaces both sugar and cream in one step; poured over vanilla ice cream, it becomes a "shortcut" affogato. Those who prefer coffee without cream can find the Kaffee Arabica natural liqueur among the Sasse liqueurs.
Salted caramel is the outlier
The Salzkaramell (salted caramel) does not recreate a Westphalian dessert – its principle comes from Brittany, where salted butter belongs to caramel like the sea belongs to the coast.
Caramel and toffee meet a pinch of sea salt, and the salt arrives late: it lifts the sweetness and cuts through it at the same time. That is why this liqueur does not become heavy, even though it should be.
The point in between is narrow. Too little salt and it remains just a sweet cream; too much and it tips over. In Schöppingen, they nailed it – which is why, of all things, the salted caramel has a fan base among barbecue enthusiasts: after the steak, while the coals are still glowing, the salty edge goes better with the smoke than one might think.
17 percent and the refrigerator
All three are at 17% ABV, and this figure is an artisanal choice.
Cream and alcohol want to separate, and the higher the alcohol content, the more determined they are to do so. The 17% marks the point at which both stay together – beyond that, the bond becomes an art form. In the glass, this shows as a light flow: these three pour thinly into the glass and therefore remain pleasant even on the second round.
For you, this means: after opening, put them in the refrigerator, where they will last for a few weeks. Swirl briefly before pouring and serve at 6 to 8 degrees Celsius – when cold, the salt and roasted notes stand out clearly; when warm, the sweetness masks them.
If you don't know which one is yours, get the miniature tasting set: six 20-milliliter bottles, two of each variety, plus a tasting booklet. 120 milliliters are enough for an evening for two – and because every variety is included twice, everyone gets to drink their favorite twice.
