The Art of Distilling.

The centuries-old art of distilling fruit spirits has always been practised with particular care at SCHLADERER. The company produces fruit spirits of a previously unattained quality in the traditional way while also employing increasingly refined technology that has gradually evolved from our practical experience and from the know-how of our master distillers, dating back many decades.

It all starts with the fruit: Sweet black distilling cherries from the Black Forest, small golden-yellow plums from Lorraine, juicy Williams" pears from South Tyrol, Romagna and the Rhone plain, and fragrant wild raspberries from the Carpathians - we select and procure our fruit where it can ripen under the best of climatic and geographic conditions. In the Black Forest, the cherry harvest starts in July. As with a good wine vintage, a high quality is ensured by the sun. Only healthy, freshly harvested produce, picked at the peak of its ripeness and then carefully transported will produce successfully distilled spirits.

The making of fine "Wässer" and "Geiste". It is in the distillery that the process which has made SCHLADERER fruit spirits so famous goes through its final stages. Employing the traditional method of copper stills, but with a highly-refined, ingenious control technology built up from our distilling practice, the mash is gently distilled with a finely-tuned steam-heating system. Whether the distillation process is a success or not is determined by the experience and trained taste of the master distiller. Skilfully eliminating the first runnings and tailings, the produce being distilled must be treated with the utmost care to ensure that it develops its flavour to the full and leaves its mark on the spirits. We also pay great attention to disposing of the distillation residues in an environmentally compatible manner. The fruit mashes, which are acidic by nature, are neutralised, while the solids are composted after having the liquid removed from them, and the stones are screened out, dried and burned to save heating costs.

Wässer" and "Geiste" fruit spirits. Stone fruits, in particular, have a relatively high fruit-sugar content, which is converted into alcohol through fermentation. This, in turn, is distilled with the aroma of the fruit during the distilling operation from the mash. A distilled spirit of this kind is called a "Wasser", such as Kirschwasser (cherry).

The word "Geist", as in Himbeergeist (raspberry), is used when fruits that are highly fragrant but low in sugar, like berries, are covered in neutral alcohol in the unfermented state in order to preserve their flavour and are then macerated for a lengthy period. The mash obtained in this way is subsequently distilled by the same process, with the distilled spirits being referred to as "Geist".

Quality assurance and quality control. Carefully-selected fresh fruits, precise and controlled fermentation, and clean, careful distillation are all self-evident at SCHLADERER. The optimum condition of the mash is assured by continuous monitoring of the fermentation process and by sample distillations performed in our laboratory. The quality of the distilled spirits is similarly monitored through continuous tastings and through gaschromatographic analyses conducted in parallel to the distilling process. Comparisons with the analysis values from previous years serve as a reference in our endeavours to achieve constant quality improvements

Storage and cuvée. The distilled spirits flow out of the stills in clear, pure form and are stored in ventilated vessels with an alcohol content of some 65 to 70 percent by volume. The finest qualities are stored in ash barrels for many years, with the wood imparting neither colour nor taste to the spirits. The maturing process that takes place during storage produces a milder, more "rounded" taste. A considerable portion of the alcohol evaporates during this process - the French touchingly refer to this as the "angels" share".

Filling. After about two years, different spirits are selected and analysed first in Schladerer"s own laboratory and then by an independent food chemist. After repeated tastings, experts put together a cuvée which connoisseurs of our fruit spirits will once again recognise and appreciate as the familiar, fine SCHLADERER taste. The high-proof distilled spirit is then diluted to drinking strength using a particularly soft spring water. After filtering, the spirit is filled into bottles on a modern, largely automated filling plant, receiving an original wax seal as the finishing touch.