Siegburg Abbey Liqueur
The Siegburger Abbey Liqueur is a herbal liqueur that is distilled and sold in the North Rhine-Westphalian district town of Siegburg in the tradition of more than 600 years according to a Benedictine recipe that has been handed down in writing .
history
The Siegburg Abbey of St. Michael was founded in 1064 by Benedictine monks on the Michaelsberg - then called Siegberg . True to the order of St. Benedict : “Care for the sick is the primary and highest duty. You really serve them like Christ ”the monks began to grow herbs and medicinal plants in the monastery garden and use them. For therapeutic treatment and health promotion, ointments, teas and herbal elixirs were initially made from this; Since 1504, the production of a bitter liqueur within the Siegburg monastery walls can be proven. Initially focused exclusively on the treatment of the sick, the Benedictines later brought their liqueur to the market. The herbal recipe was further refined over the next few centuries, and the addition of sugar gave the distillate a sweet and spicy taste.
After the abbey was abolished as a result of secularization in 1803, the liqueur was distilled and sold by the Siegburg druggists Richarz and Heinen until it was repopulated in 1914 . After a long production standstill, the liqueur recipe was found again in 1952, and the Benedictines resumed their own production within the monastery walls.
In 2011, the Benedictine convent dissolved and production of the liqueur was initially discontinued.
Todays situation
After the dissolution of the abbey in Siegburg became known, companies from all over Germany applied for a license to continue liqueur production. After the monks moved out in 2011, the license rights were taken over by the brothers Bernd and Rüdiger Kranz, the managing directors of the Siegburger Kranz Parkhotel, in 2012 under the company name Abtei-Liqueur Siegburg GmbH , and the production of the Siegburg Abbey Liqueur has been going on ever since old site within the historical walls of the former Benedictine monastery. Every year around 12,000 liters of liqueur are produced and sold in selected specialist shops or the company's own online shop, but you can also taste and purchase the Siegburg Abbey Liqueur directly in the liqueur cellar on the Michaelsberg - right next to the production and bottling plant .
Siegburger Abtei-Liqueur is protected by the German Patent and Trademark Office as a registered image / word mark of Abtei-Liqueur Siegburg GmbH . The original note on the bottle label "Made from the finest herbs according to an old monastery recipe by the monks of the Benedictine abbey" has been rewritten as "Made from the finest herbs according to an old monastery recipe from the Benedictine abbey", since the monks no longer work with the Liqueur production are concerned.
Siegburger Abbey Liqueur is now preferred as a sweet and spicy herbal liqueur with coffee , as a digestif or in cocktails .
Recipe
The recipe for making the Siegburg Abbey Liqueur is kept strictly secret and was documented and updated in writing by the Benedictines for over six centuries on twenty pages. In its current composition, the spirit consists of nine different herbs made with 96 percent alcohol. These herbs include coriander , angelica root , cloves and mace , among others . The herb extract is then refined with sugar. The alcohol content is 42% vol. The abbey liqueur gets its intense and distinctive gold / yellow color from pure, high-quality saffron ; The coriander used in particular has a digestive effect.
Deviating from the original recipe, a Siegburg Abbey Liqueur has also been launched on the market for several years , which is mixed with a fine distillate ( brandy ); this liqueur contains 40% vol as the end product. Alcohol.
photos
Sieburger Abbey Liqueur in the original glass
Production / filling plant (partial view)
Bottled bottles
Tasting room (partial view)
literature
- Andrea Korte-Böger: Up on the mountain. The history of the abbey and the Michaelsberg in Siegburg. Edition Blattwelt, Siegburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-936256-31-4 .
- Placidus Mittler: Michaelsberg Abbey, Siegburg. History and life. Schmitt, Siegburg 1987, ISBN 3-87710-128-3 .
- Wunibald Weber: Michaelsberg. History of a 900 year old abbey. Self-published, Siegburg 1953.
Web links
- Siegburg Abbey Liqueur . In: abteiliqueursiegburg.de (Official Website)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jessica Backhaus: Klamme Michaelsberg-Mönche - With delicious liqueur from the crisis. In: express.de, October 4, 2010
- ↑ The Siegburg Abbey Liqueur. In: abtei-michaelsberg.de.
- ↑ Johannes Schmitz: They could no longer be together. In: faz.net, July 8, 2011.
- ↑ Klaus Michelsen: Abbey liqueur remains in Siegburg . In: general-anzeiger-bonn.de, June 21, 2011 ( Memento of the original from August 31, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Siegburg Abbey Liqueur (word / figurative mark). In: dpma.de
- ↑ Jessica Backhaus: Klamme Michaelsberg-Mönche - With delicious liqueur from the crisis . In: express.de, October 4, 2010.
- ↑ see: Information sheet : Short history of liquer production in the Benedictine abbey . (Editor: Abtei-Liqueur Siegburg GmbH)
- ^ Siegburg Abbey - Liqueur (with brandy) . In: siegburgerdestille.de
