Etter - La Fine Eau de Vie

Etter Distillery - a long history

As early as 1823, farmer Johann Bapist Etter in Menzingen was engaged in distilling from his own cherries as a sideline business. This laid the foundation for a success story. then, in 1879, Paul Etter founded the Etter Distillery. For 110 years, the company continued to concentrate exclusively on cherry distillation. It was not until 1981, after a new building with the most modern equipment, that the assortment was expanded to include other types of fruit. But that's not all, in 2010, the first Johnett Swiss Single Malt Whiskey was launched and two years later, the 4th generation took over the distillery.

Highest quality in all areas

To deliver only the highest quality is a matter of course for the Etter company. To achieve this, a large number of high-quality individual steps are required during production. For example, the sweet distilling cherries comeexclusively from the best sites in the Lake Zug region in the heart of Switzerland. Etter distills five completely different cherry brandies as well as many other fruit brandy specialties such as Williams pear or Vieille Prune. 

The work with the natural raw materials such as cherries and Williams pears is very complex. Variety, soil, climate, degree of ripeness and weather are decisive for the quality of the fruit brandies. Only fully ripe and aromatic fruits make it to the distillery after a labor-intensive harvest. In quantitatively good harvest years with outstanding quality, we therefore distill for stock. All fruit varieties are then processed and fermented at Etter. The natural fermentation causes the important conversion of fruit sugar into alcohol.

Distillation and maturation at Etter Söhne

The distiller's art consists in separating the pre- and post-fermentation from the mid-fermentation during distillation. This requires a lot of experience, a fine nose and a well-developed sense of taste. The purity, bouquet and intensity of the still young distillate are judged by the Etter family together with the master distiller. This gives each fruit brandy the personal signature of the house. Finally, the right alcohol content for excellent drinking pleasure is achieved by adding fresh Zugerberger spring water. Afterwards,the skilful maturing process ensures excellent taste harmony from the nose to the palate and through to the finish. Depending on the variety, the fruit brandies are aged for several months or, in the case of stone fruit, for several years.