Admittedly, the variety of products offered by the German Spirits Manufactory in Berlin can be overwhelming at first. Almost 120 different brandies, spirits and liqueurs, including a gin, Doppelkorn and vodka, you have to take some time to get an overview – but it’s worth it. After all, what the two founders Tim Müller and Konrad Horn have set up in Berlin is probably unique in the world. After years of preparation and experimentation, they founded the premium distillery “Deutsche Spirituosen Manufaktur” in 2017. And their aspiration for their endeavor was nothing less than to completely redefine “premium” in the spirits sector.
But how can this be achieved? It was clear to both of them that premium was not possible in mass, but only in small handmade batches. Another important prerequisite is that quality cannot be produced into a product, but begins with the selection of hand-picked, high-quality and natural raw materials. And the equipment for production must also be right, which is why the distillation of the spirits and spirits takes place on the best available copper stills made in Germany. And last but not least, knowledge of the manufacturing processes should not be missing. From maceration and mashing, to slow distillation, to the clean separation of the pre- and post-carriages, to the subsequent storage, maturation and finally to bottling – all this was meticulously worked out at DSM’s headquarters in a listed brick building in the east of Berlin and checked by strict quality controls. This also includes the consequent renunciation of the addition of industrial flavours and colourings of any kind, and DSM uses sugar exclusively where it is indispensable: in the liqueurs.
But how did DSM’s unrivalled product diversity come about? This is the result of three mutually reinforcing effects: first, there were no prohibitions on thinking, every idea, no matter how crazy, was allowed. Capture the smell of a walk through an autumnal deciduous forest as a distillate, why not? And the spirit of German autumn leaves is truly a particularly successful, mild and fruity-complex distillate. Secondly, however, the knowledge of raw materials and their optimal processing has been expanded and deepened with each new product, thus facilitating new product developments. And thirdly, customers and suppliers were infected by DSM’s diversity of ideas and came up with their own wishes and suggestions.
From DSM’s point of view, premium does not simply mean developing and producing excellent products, but also revealing something about them. For this reason, pharmacist Horn has put all his knowledge of the distillates on paper in an “almanac”. Filled not only with specialist knowledge, but also with personal and historical anecdotes or other interesting facts for each product and illustrated with matching hand-painted illustrations, the almanac is the perfect reference work.
And so it is not surprising that the manufactory has made a name for itself throughout Germany and beyond with its high standards of quality and appearance within just a few years. Various awards have also contributed to this. Of the more than 100 products that the distillery had developed and brought to market maturity by 2020, 18 of the 20 products submitted to the DLG’s quality test were awarded “Gold”. This outstanding achievement was also awarded the Federal Gold Prize by the Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture.
For all those who want to get their own impression of the quality of the brandies, spirits and liqueurs of the DSM, the 24 tasting box is perfect. There is a little bit of everything: classics, such as spirits of Tarocco blood orange or hazelnut, the brandies of raspberry and rowanberry, gin and liqueurs such as limoncello or ginger liqueur, can be found as well as the more exotic spirits of autumn leaves, porcini mushrooms or mountain meadow hay. And as a special highlight, there is the eight-page DSM journal in newspaper format with excerpts from the almanac as well as numerous inspiring cocktail recipes.
