IWS Episode 1: Raspberry, Franz Klammer & Brennerei Pirker

Inside World Spirits © Episode 1
Raspberry, Franz Klammer, Georg Rippel

Can be streamed (in German with English subtitles) in the protected area - directly at iws.tv

Everything revolves around the subject: Raspberry: the red gold from the forest

• Talk partners: Franz Klammer – (not only) Carinthian ski-idol and
• Georg Rippel, Pirker Distillery, Austria

• Botanical: basil (herb) – professionally explained by Patrick Altermatt, Switzerland
• IWS.tv-host Wolfram Ortner - 20 minutes of exciting and profound presentation

Products/ spirits:

• Raspberry, Pirker Distillery GmbH, Austria
• Raspberry spirit, Obstkultur Kasinger (fruit cultivation), Austria

Brand new format, 15-minute episodes, expert information and entertainment on a "spiritual" basis, celebrity and distiller talk, journey through the botanical gardens of the earth, sensory evaluation of the world's best spirits.

Background information about the IWS.tv episode:

Red Gold from the Forest

Among berries raspberry is one of the most aromatic summer fruits als highly coveted as a fresh fruit - the berry fruits enjoy special popularity as a flavour firecracker in confectioneries and for the production of jams, jellies and juices.

The red, yellow and black beries too were collected as early as in the Neolithic period and grown by monks in monastery gardens in the Middle Ages. Since then new breedings of summer and autumn varieties have continuously been researched. The especially delicious and coveted wild raspberries feel particularly comfortable at forest borders and in clearings - one can even find them at a height of 2,000 metres sea level.

Distillers have also already recognised the charm of this rosaceous plant and process mainly raspberries from cultivation or straight away wild raspberries which even almost have to be weighed in gold. The cost factor made distillers inventive: the offer ranges from raspberries marinated in grappa, liqueurs, brandies or spirits up to noble brandies and the highlight in 100% distillates - naturally from harvest-fresh wild raspberries. Gathered by hand, processed immediately and distilled in the so-called outgoing fermentation with a lot of flair and craftsmanship, they are true flavour miracles.

Raspberry spirits or the classic French Framboise enjoy the biggest publicity within the range of raspberry spirits. Caution: raspberry is not the same raspberry! When producing a spirit, raspberries are marinated in pure industrial alcohol for some days and then distilled. A raspberry distillate is distilled from the alcohol of pure fermented berries. Only approx. 35 litres of ready to drink distillate can be gained from one tonne of wild raspberries with even the most superior production method. The difference is clearly noticeable in the price and above all in the quality. The sensory spectrum ranges from predominantly fresh citrus notes up to slightly hay- or marzipan-like aroma components.

Source: www.world-spirits.com  © by WOB 

Products/ Spirits & Distilleries

Brennerei Pirker: Masterpieces from Mariazell

Austrian gingerbread and honey wine production and candle dipping have a long-standing tradition dating back over 300 years in Mariazell. The Pirker family still practise, preserve and bring to life these fascinating crafts today. Katharina Pirker and Georg Rippel-Pirker run this Upper Styrian model business, which has been awarded the Styrian coat of arms, with lots of enthusiasm and creativity. In addition to traditional and local fruit varieties, special fruits are also distilled, such as organic orange brandy, honey brandy and rice brandy which is sold as far afield as Japan.

At Pirker’s, tradition is combined with zeitgeist; 60 different brandies, honey wine, original Mariazell herb bitter (from local herbs, with no added sugar) and gingerbread liqueur are carefully produced and impressively presented. The company has won numerous awards, confirming its high quality standards – only the very best pure fruits, herbs, honey and hand-selected spices are processed and distilled. Pirker’s entire product range is made up of more than 400 homemade specialities from exquisite brandies, liqueurs and Mariazell honey gingerbread to honey wine, handmade beeswax candles and high-quality vinegars from their own vinegar factory.

The World Class Distillery (OBB) and Master Class Distillery (BILI) 2019 received double gold for Rowanberry Spirit, Raspberry (World Spirits Award 2019), Blackcurrant, Organic Cornel Cherry, gold for Gingerbread Liqueur, Sloe, Wachau Apricot, Rowanberry, Coffee Liqueur, Herb Bitter, Stone Pine Spirit, Chocolate Gingerbread Liqueur, Gooseberry, Quince Brandy, and silver for Damson, Blackberry Brandy, Edelkräuter (herbs), Egg Liqueur, Red Williams Pear and Organic Orange.

95,8 WOB-Punkte – Himbeere 2018 L: 4630 - Double-Gold
Brennerei Pirker GmbH – Konditorei, Lebzelterei & Wachszieherei, Österreich-8630 Mariazell, www.pirker-lebkuchen.at
Fragrance: Opulent berry portfolio, compact, delicate fruit ester, strawberry, cassis, gooseberry, nutty and marzipan-like, a touch of citrus, orange, grapefruit, chocolate, lemon grass, green and leafy, eucalyptus, floral accents. Taste: Aromatic mirror of the fragrance, intense candy-like raspberry aromas, jammy texture, blackberries, green and herbal basic notes, menthol coolness, nutty, rosehip, intense fruit sweetness, slight kernel bitter aftertaste, compact body, balanced and long.

Kasinger Fruit Plantation – The best from the farm

Everyone knows that ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’. The Kasinger family’s greatest wish is to grow and sell fresh fruit as naturally as possible. A wide range of their fruit is used in various ways: from fresh fruit to juice to jam and schnapps and liqueurs. The farm in Burgkirchen, Fuchshofen 4 – with the farm name ‘Fuchshofer’ – has been in existence since 1532. These days, the second generation of the family runs an agricultural enterprise with an emphasis on fruit cultivation and the farm shop. Since 2011, their new passion has been refining quality fruits into distillates.

In the new distillery, it is mostly traditional, classic fine brandies which are created, but they also produce soaked fruit schnapps and liqueurs using their own raw materials. The great advantage is that the fruit is ripe and can be processed ‘still warm from the sun’, because it is grown directly on the doorstep. The wide variety of fruits includes apples (20 varieties), damsons (8 varieties) and pears (6 varieties) – dried as ‘Kletzenbirnen’, a regional speciality. There are also apricots, nectarines and peaches, cherries and sour cherries, grapes, rowanberries, redcurrants, chokeberries and nuts. Their work of all year is then refined by distilling.

The First Class Distillery 2019 received gold for Cherry Brandy, and silver for Rowanberry Brandy, Apricot Brandy, Williams Pear Brandy, Apple "g'mischter Satz" and Raspberry Brandy.

89 WOB-Punkte – Himbeer Brand 2017 L: 11/17 – Silver
Obstkultur Kasinger, Österreich-5274 Burgkirchen
Fragrance: A lone wolf, very ripe berries, slight blackberry touch, delicate cassis, foxy note, a touch of tonka bean, hay-like, leafy and straw-like reflections, earthy, minty, chocolatey, floral reflections. Taste: Raspberry comes more to the fore, slightly blackberry-like, hay-like and herbal background, tobacco, rosehip, grassy and green components, menthol, medicinal and quince-like tartness, very harmonious, full-bodied and long. Volume:

Quelle: www.world-spirits.com © by WOB