Destillerie Farthofer: Organic liquors and spirits

DESTILLERIE Farthofer in Austria owns 45 hectares of farm where it grows barley, wheat, and other grains, for its wines and spirits. Owners Doris and Josef Farthofer are proud of how they have transformed the distillery into one that is organic, from the choice of raw materials right down to the processing.

The entire distillery runs on renewable energy, using its own-grown Miscanthus (elephant grass) as biofuel. According to Mr Farthofer, who was at FHA 2016 in Singapore, about one hectare can generate 9,000 liters of oil for heating – and they grow 13 hectares of Miscanthus. The process saves the company about 90,000 liters of heating oil for production, and there’s excess energy which is sold to local fire stations and schools.

Mr Farthofer added that by-products of fruits are used as fertilizer, and that no pesticides ever come near the farms. He also said special ploughs are used to dig the soil.

MOSTELLO is a special composition of pear cider and pear schnapps, made of delicate and local fruit (Photo: Destillerie Farthofer; credit: Daniel Schalhas)

Only within a few years the Farthofers turned their business into one of Europe’s most respected spirit and liqueur brands among craft distillers. They can produce 30,000 liters of MOSTELLO and 40,000 liters of spirits annually.

Their organic, premium spirits are crystal-clear, precise and fresh, which can be attributed to the brilliantly clean water they draw from their own well.

All of company’s spirits are reduced and cultivated by 50 percent of the clean Austrian spring water. Not even one bottle of their spirits have ever turned cloudy, whereas most distillers dilute their spirits with distilled water to keep it from becoming cloudy. Furthermore, their products are free from additives, artificial flavorings and artificial colors.

Their signature drink is MOSTELLO, a special composition of pear cider and pear schnapps, made of delicate and local fruit only. Its significant way of production is very similar to the process of Port Wine making, although its maturation is very different from most wines all over the world. MOSTELLO matures for a year in barrels that are stored outside the distillery, whereas most wines from warm or hot regions are left to mature in storehouses. The alpine aging of this dessert wine is what leads its unique development, which gives it its special crisp and fresh touch.

Besides numerous awards, Destillerie Farthofers’ popularity significantly grew in 2012 when the master distiller not only won the gold medal, but on top of that the much sought-after trophy for the world’s best vodka in the category of “unflavored 40%”.

In 2015 their O-Vodka and O-Gin (O= organic) were both awarded double gold at the “China Wine and Spirits Awards”. This distinction is what led them to explore more markets in South East Asia.