Cubeb (Piper cubeba) is a tropical shrub in the Piperaceae family native to Java and Sumatra. Used as a substitute to black pepper, cubeb has a bitter, spicy flavor reminiscent of a cross between black pepper and allspice.

Nicknamed the "tail pepper," cubeb was once widely used as a substitute to black pepper. That was prior to 1640, when the King of Portugal prohibited the sale of cubeb to promote the now ubiquitous spice found next to our salt shakers. The botanical is now primarily used as a flavoring agent for gin and cigarettes, as well as in Indonesian cuisine.

Ironically, cubeb cigarettes were sold in the Victorian era as an asthma treatment. Edgar Rice Burroughs, the writer of Tarzan, claims that the story may not have existed if it weren't for cubeb cigarettes, which he smoked religiously while writing. The brand du jour was Marshall's Prepared Cubeb Cigarettes, which was so successful it stuck around through World War II.

Cubeb pepper possesses sabinene, a compound known to have antibacterial properties helpful in fighting against bacteria that cause foodborne illness. Lauded as a cure-all in the Tang Dynasty in China, cubeb was administered by Tang physicians to restore appetite, cure demon vapors, darken the hair, and perfume the body. There is no evidence from that time showing that cubeb was used in culinary pursuits, though it was prized as a seasoning for meats and sauces in Europe during the Middle Ages.

A 14th-century morality tale about the dangers of gluttony written by Franciscan writer Francesc Eiximenis describes the eating habits of a cleric who consumed a concoction of egg yolks, cinnamon, and cubeb after his bath, likely as an aphrodisiac. In the 17th century, the Catholic priest Ludovico Maria Sinistrari wrote about methods of exorcism and listed cubeb as an ingredient to ward off incubus, a demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women. Today, Sinistrari's formula is quoted by neopagan authors who claim that cubeb can be used in love sachets and spells.

While cubeb's efficacy as a love potion is questionable, it is without a doubt delicious in gin. The spice contains high levels of limonene, which should give off a strong citrus flavor, although the taste goes largely undetected. Instead, the botanical offers a complex floral hint and peppery finish that mixes and melds well with the other core gin botanicals like juniper and coriander.

Found in: AMASS Dry Gin