Bärwurz (spirit)
The Bärwurz - with male products as opposed to the female plant - is a clear, high-proof liquor of the Bavarian Forest and the Vogt country , the domestic from one of the two there aromatic and medicinal plants Meum athamanticum ( Bärwurz ) or mutellina adonidifolia ( Alpine Lovage , formerly : Ligusticum mutellina ) and in strengths of at least 38% vol. Alcohol content is brought on the market, mostly in the function as a digestive .
Used plant
The Bärwurz is native to the Bavarian Forest and has been used for centuries as a spice and medicinal plant, mainly to the improvement of digestive power of humans and animals. Bärwurz is under nature protection in the Bavarian Forest; natural stocks can be found on the Großer and Kleiner Arber, Rachel and Lusen . The plant is now grown commercially for schnapps production. However, the wild-growing root is far more interesting in terms of the active ingredients, since the plant is sprayed in monoculture and therefore does not need to develop its protective active ingredients. In addition, the terroir of the altitude has a direct influence on the taste. In order to collect the wild plant, you need a collection permit. This is obtained by those who know how to collect sustainably by harvesting only the main roots and leaving the side roots in the ground in order to be able to develop new plants.
The plant name appeared for the first time as early as the 12th century, as "Berwurtz", possibly because of its beneficial effect on diseases of the uterus (uterine root ) or because of the tufted beard remnants on the stem base, which resemble a shaggy bearskin. The plant grows up to 60 cm high and roots up to a meter deep. All parts of the plant have a pervasive, spicy smell of parsley , celery and lovage , which remains even when dried, and a sharp, aromatic, but also sweetish taste.
production method
Only the root, which has to grow for up to eight years, is used to produce the bearwort, a drink that is popular in the Bavarian Forest. The collected roots are washed and chopped up, then further broken down in a macerating vessel , whereby the typical aromatic substances of bearwort are extracted with high percentage alcohol. After a storage period of a few hours to days, the bear sausage extract is heated in a cauldron and then distilled in approx. 2-3 hours . The distillate is then stored in oak or stoneware barrels or stainless steel tanks, the duration of which depends on the type of storage. The distillate is often only stored for a few days or weeks in steel tanks; it can mature for several years in oak barrels. The matured distillate, which has turned a little golden yellow in the case of oak barrel storage, is then removed, reduced to drinking strength with water that is as neutral as possible and thus brought on the market. A variant of this process is at home in the Fichtelgebirge. Here the seeds of the bearwort are collected, macerated and distilled: this has the advantage that the growth of the valuable wild plant is not impaired (sustainability). The typical bearwort taste is also contained in this spirit, but it lacks the rooty taste.
Production and sales
The Bärwurz is produced by a number of specialized distilleries, most of which are family-owned, and marketed in a typical cylindrical stoneware bottle in different drinking strengths (mostly between 40 and 50%).
Well-known Bärwurz producers can be found in:
- Arrach
- Drexler Bärwurzerei
- Hauzenberg
- Bad Kötzting
- Bärwurz spring Bad Kötzting
- Bärwurzerei Liebl
- Zwiesel
- Bärwurzerei Hieke
- Deggendorf / Mietraching
- Distillery to the bear
- Schoenberg
- Ramelsberg Castle Ramelsberg Distillery
- Zwota
- Bärwurz Meinel
- Weißenstadt in the Fichtel Mountains
- Sack's still
and elsewhere.