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Kapruner Edelbrände: Hiking with a high-spirited reward

Not far from the Kaprunerhof, on the Maiskogel mountain, lies the cosy Unteraigen inn. Homemade delicacies and home-distilled schnapps are served here, accompanied by the wonderful panoramic views over Lake Zeller See and the surrounding mountains. The establishment is run by the Rattens-berger family with charisma and warmth and is a popular place to stop for people on hikes or to take a break from skiing. You can visit the distillery, if you like.

In 1995, Albert Rattensberger had the facility designed and built, and in 2001, he founded the Kaprun-er Edelbrände company. In 2014, Anton ‘Toni’ Rattensberger took over the distillery, which produces fine fruit distillates with love and experience. “In schnapps you will only find what the fruit has to give, sometimes with a little yeast to improve fermentation. Basically, we keep to the motto: good fruit = good fermentation = good schnapps,” says Toni.

Distillation takes place all year round, but the main season is between September and December. When the distillation plan is drawn up, the fruit is delivered. Depending on demand, between 500 and 1,500 litres of schnapps are distilled every year. In total, there are 13 varieties, including apple, rasp-berry, cherry, apricot, quince, Williams from Styrian pears and rowanberry from the Polish field ro-wan. Upon request – with a week’s delivery time – there is also gentian, sour cherry, cherry honey and egg liqueur.

At the World Spirits Award, there was silver for Apple from oak barrels.

Destillerie Freihof: Perfectly crafted Austrian spirits

Originating from the Freihof inn in Lustenau, Destillerie Freihof developed into one of the leading distilleries in Austria under Gebhard Hämmerle. Currently his grandson, Johann J. Drexel, runs the family business in its fifth generation – already since 1885 they have been dedicated to producing fine fruit brandies.

The basis of their success story is the knowledge of where the best fruits grow, harvesting them at the perfect moment, and then concentrating on the processing, fermentation, distillation and storage for the best results. Work on the quality of the distillates is carried out with dedication and without any addition of flavourings and aromas to the fine brandies and schnapps.

Under the brand name Privatbrennerei Gebhard Hämmerle, selected top-quality batches of each harvest year have been processed separately for over 60 years. Further information can be found at: HYPERLINK „http://www.haemmerle.com“ www.haemmerle.com. The products of the Freihof 1885 brand bring together authentic, crafted Austrian spirits with innovative ideas and applications. Further information is available at: https://1885.freihof.com/. All spirits and liqueurs are made from purely natural raw materials and have stood out with their unadulterated taste for decades.

The First Class Distillery received gold for Hämmerle Subirer and Ivanov Pure Vodka, silver for Edelweiss Vodka, Hämmerle Enzian (gentian), Hämmerle Vogelbeere (rowanberry), Hämmerle Williams (pear) and Hämmerle Mirabelle.

Family of Hounds – Sought and found

Andrea Frigerio and his English wife, Lina, live in Monaco with their two dogs, Spot and Magda, two wonderful additions to the family. Since they started taking the two for walks in town, they have made many new friends. Andrea and Lina used to be red wine drinkers, who spent their holidays in the wine hills of Italy and France. It was only in 2013, while visiting a country estate in England, that they discovered their love for a good G & T. This developed into a passion, and their discussions soon revolved around what it would be like to create their own gin.

They tasted intensively, discarded aromas they didn’t like, and extracted the aromas they did. Together with the master distiller in an old distillery in Piedmont, they created their recipe for the gin: juniper, lemon and orange peel, pink grapefruit, lavender, thyme, cardamom, ginger and coriander. The first three ingredients come from Italy, the rest from Asia. “The juniper is really loud, like a brightly lit disco floor, and the other botanicals dance around it. Together, they are like a lively, attention-seeking dog that can’t sit still.”

In the future, they are looking to establish a small family of spirits, from gin to vodka and from grappa to vermouth – unmistakable in taste, but accessible to everyone. The core of the philosophy is going out with good friends, enjoying a good meal and even better spirits. The first step has already been taken …

At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Family of Hounds Gin.