Unicum (liqueur)
Unicum is the name of a Hungarian bitters from the Zwack distillery .
Its name goes back to the alleged exclamation "This is a Unicum!" By the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Joseph II , who was also Archduke of Austria and King of Hungary when he first bought the liqueur in 1790 from his court doctor Dr. Zwack had received.
The herbal schnapps and bitters is an extract from over 40 different herbs and roots. Unicum contains 40% vol. Alcohol . The optimal drinking temperature is 8 ° C to 10 ° C.
The composition is similar to the Underberg . The recipe has been a secret of the Zwack family for 200 years. The various herbs and roots are soaked in alcohol for a few weeks until the active ingredients dissolve. The solution is then distilled. The drink is then aged in oak barrels for six months before it is bottled.
history
The history of Unicum is closely linked to that of the Zwack distillery . It was founded in Pest in 1840 and has been producing the liqueur based on the family recipe since then. In 1883, the spherical green glass bottle with the emblem consisting of a white cross on a round red background, which is still in use today, was registered and protected as a trademark. Unicum was already successfully exported to Austria , France and Russia in those years . In 1890, production had grown so much that it had to move to new premises in the 9th district of Budapest ( Ferencváros ), where it is still being manufactured today. Production came to a standstill in the Second World War when the factory was destroyed. After the factory was rebuilt, the company was nationalized in 1948 under the communist regime. However, the Zwack family kept their recipe secret and gave a false, modified version to the state. Under difficult circumstances, the family managed to leave the country and flee to Italy, where they made their Unicum according to their original recipe. From now on until 1989 there were two types of the drink. After the fall of the Wall in 1989, Péter Zwack managed to buy back the company in Hungary together with Underberg and from then on produced Unicum again in Hungary using the original recipe. In the 1990s, a new form of bitters called Unicum Next came onto the market. In contrast to the original Unicum, it tastes sweeter and “fresher” like lemon.
In addition to the well-known bitters, Zwack also produces several types of brandy, schnapps and liqueurs.
Awards
- BNV award, 1991
- Hungaropack Prize, 1998
- Worldstar Winner, 1998
- Golden Leaf (for advertising) Tokyo, 2000
literature
- Ingrid Haslinger: Customer - Kaiser. The story of the former imperial and royal purveyors . Schroll, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85202-129-4 .
