World-Spirits Online Guide Abo – order now

Zwack: A family as the guardian of a secret recipe

Unicum is one of the oldest herb liqueurs in Europe and is made from over 40 different herbs and spices. The manufacturing process and the 225-year-old secret recipe have remained unchanged since Unicum was created in 1790, staying in the Zwack family for six generations. Today the production lies in the hands of Sándor and Izabella Zwack. Some special ingredients, known as the ‘heart of Unicum’, are personally measured by other family members – currently by Anne Marshall Zwack and her son Sándor Zwack. Two parallel processes are used for the production of Unicum: in the distillation the delicate herbal fragrances are preserved while other herbs are macerated at the same time to retain their characteristic colour and typical taste. Then they are mixed together and matured in oak barrels where Unicum gains its final complexity in taste and bouquet.

In the year 2020, after almost three years of development, the latest member of the Unicum family was presented. With Unicum Barista, a blend of Unicum and 100% Arabica coffee, Zwack took an innovative approach to the old tradition of consuming a herb liqueur with coffee.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Unicum Barista.

Spezialitäten-Brennerei & Whisky Destillerie Liebl: Distilled with passion

The roots of the family business go back to the year 1935 and the small grocery store of grandmother Maria Liebl. Following the difficult war years, a wine and spirits trade was added to the business. In 1970, they began with their own production of traditional, regional specialities such as Bärwurz.

The purchase of a distillery in 1990, with the rights for distilling 300 litres, laid the foundation for the current technology. In January 2006, the first whisky distillery in the Bavarian Forest was created. In 2013, the product range was extended with Bavarian Dry Gin, Bavarian Premium Vodka and Bavarian Rum. As well as apple, pear and damson, the focus is on wild fruits such as wild cherry, yew, hawthorn and juneberry, but the repertoire also includes Sicilian blood orange and tangerine.

Tradition, nature, time and the desire to create something special are the principles on which top class spirits have been produced here for many years. Nature provides the benchmark and thus also the motivation for Gerhard Liebl to transform fully ripe fruit into ‘liquid diamonds of the art of distillation’ every year.

The World Class Distillery 2022 received gold for Williamsbirne Edition Lena (pear), Jahrgangsbrand 2020, Bergkirschbrand (cherry), Rote Williamsbirne (pear), Elsbeerenbrand (wild serviceberry), Spänlingbrand (plum) and Espressolikör (espresso liqueur).