The journey from the fruit to the finished product requires a great deal of traditional expertise and high levels of professionalism. Martin Fankhauser, a fourth generation schnapps distiller from the Zillertal, gives us an insight into his work. Martin Fankhauser demonstrated his distilling pedigree by picking up a total of 51 awards for superior brandies between 2005 and 2009, both at the national championships for rural brandies and international tasting events. He was awarded three silvers and three bronzes at the 2007/2008 Destillata, which is the foremost international awards event in the fruit brandy sector. He scooped these awards most notably for his Masterwort and the Williams Pear brandies.

Water, heat and cooling are the key components of the process of alchemy which takes place in the distilling apparatus.

The distilling kettle is wood-fired, and the fruit which has been fermented for weeks, the mash, is poured into the still and slowly heated to 76 degrees Celsius. The alcohol starts to boil at this temperature here and evaporates from the fruit mix into what is known as the helmet. The vapor condenses back into liquid in the cooling tubes, and the alcohol flows slowly into the collecting jar.

The art off distilling schnapps is almost a thousand years old. It has been practiced for generations in the Zillertal. Pear schnapps was originally the most common variety in circulation there. Good quality fruit was sold, and windfall which could no longer be sold was used by the farmers to make brandy for their own consumption. Nowadays there are lots of rural distilleries in Zillertal, some specializing in the production of high quality distillates, including Martin Fanhauser’s Stiegenhaushof distillery in Schwendau.

FROM MEDICAL BENEFITS TO PURE PLEASURE

“In the pasT, the high proof alcohol was used primarily for medicinal puRposes. People back then used to just drink it in sips or rub it into themselves,” explains Martin Fankhauser. “People still rub arnica schnapps in to treat aching joints. And in the past, herb schnapps was given to cows after calving and was used TO disinfect the umbilical cord. The oldest reference to “aqua vitae” (eau-de-vie) in Tyrol dates back to 1322. However, production did not pick up sharply until the 17th century when ordinary people started to enjoy schnapps. Schnapps consumption spread like a plague through some alpine valleys, and the government started to keep records of distilleries and demanded a form of drinks tax. Prior to the Second World War schnapps was also sold in bars as a cheap alternative to beer which was relatively expensive back then. The production process has now been refined. Only healthy, ripe, clean fruit with distinctive aromas and a high sugar content can be processed to make schnapps of the highest quality. The process runs from pruning the tree, to selecting the fruit and on to bottling the drinK, and takes care, dedication and a wealth of experience. Infcontrast to conventional spirits, superior brandies are ultimately also free from added sugar or artificial flavorings which are frequently used in spirits produced industrially.

THE PATH TO THE GLASS

The harvest occurs between July and September: first there are cherries, then apples, pears, quinces, damson plums. As well as a host of berries such as rosehips, cranberries or junipers. Windfall and fruit from daily harvests are sorted, cleaned and chopped up. In the past, people used to ferment the fruit in wooden barrels in the shed; however, it is now know that warm temperatures cause aroma loss, and that the chopped-up fruit, which is know as mash, obsorbs ambient smells. Therfore, Martin Fankhauser stores his mash in cool tanks for three or four weeks to allow the fruit to ferment gently and to keep the aroma intact. “Only rowan berries like the heat. They ferment at 20 degrees Celsius,” explains the schnapps distiller. Distillation normally takes place between autumn and Christmas. However, schnapps cannot be distilled by just anyone. You must have a license to do so. The Fankhauser family received its license to distill under Empress Maria Theresia. “Previously payment had to be made of alcohol given to the Empress, whereas nowadays I have to report my distilling to the authorities, and I pay a settlement per hectolitre to the tax office". Martin may only produce his schnapps within a specified period of time, and an annual of three hundred liter cap is imposed on his schnapps production. He is allowed to sell it through his farm shop or to bars and restaurants. This distinguishes Martin Fankhauser from commercial distillers who can produce unlimited volumes of alcohol and sell them without restriction. The highlights of Schnapps production in the Zillertal is the Masterwort Superior Brandy (Meisterwurz-Eddelbrand), a drink of gastrointestinal benefit. Fankhauser digs the root in autimn on the Ahornspitze, a mountain located close by. He cleans it and chops it up, then leaves it to ferment with the apple mash. As a result, the bitter taste of the masterwort is refined by the gentle sweetness of the apple, producing a good drink to take after a heavy traditional meal.


Article copied from: Zillertal.at Magazin - Edition 04 - Winter 2009/2010.