Black Forest Distillery Information
Black Forest Distillery Description
The Black Forest Distillery is a Gin Distillery in Lossburg, in Schaberhof. Nestled in in the famous Black Forest, it is an idyllic location that, until its purchase by Black Forest Distillers in 2013, was the site of traditional agriculture and cattle husbandry for five generations.
Southern Germany is an area steeped in history fruit Liqueur and Brandy production. It is the home of many experienced coppersmiths. In 2016 Pernod Ricard, via its German affiliate Pernod Ricard Deutschland, acquired a majority share of the German dry-Gin brand.
The history of Monkey 47 goes as far back as July 1945. Montgomery “Monty’ Collins was a Wing Commander of the Royal Air Force, posted to the British sector of war-torn Berlin. Commander Collins was profoundly affected by the extent of the destruction he’d seen, and set out in a humanitarian effort to help rebuild the country.
During the process of rebuilding of the Berlin Zoo, he began sponsoring an egret monkey by the name of Max. Collins opened a country guesthouse, naming it “The Wild Monkey” in honor of the monkey. Collin’s interest in distillation led him to create Schwarzwald Dry Gin which became the signature drink for the guesthouse.
In 2006, this story was rediscovered by Alexander Stein, who comes from a heritage rich in distillation. He founded Black Forest Distillers in 2010, and set out to re-create Commander Collin’s recipe with only rudimental records, a few parts of the original recipe, and eyewitness accounts.
Together with Master Distiller Cristoph Keller -an award-winning distiller of regional fruit Brandies from the Black Forest hills- they would develop a recipe that combined a perfect balance of 47 local botanicals, and crafted a small batch Gin with a distinct flavor profile that has won over nine prestigious awards since its inception.
Montgomery Collins’ Black Forest Gin was reborn. The converted old mill in which the distillery operates with a very modern, simple, elegant feel. With its bespoke copper stills, developed by a local coppersmith, has an integrated maceration design, as well as a special percolation feature.
There are 47 ingredients in the Monkey 47 Gin recipe, all of which come from the Black Forest. These ingredients include angelica root, acacia flowers, bramble leaves, lingonberries and spruce shoots.
The Juniper berries they use come from the Mediterranean (Juniper from the Mediterranean is more aromatic, as they receive four to six weeks more sun than Tuscan and German berries). An exquisite dry Gin, this re-incarantion of Monty’s Gin is a fresh and eccentric take on an old recipe.
