Etter - La Fine Eau de Vie

Distillery Etter - a long history

As early as 1823, farmer Johann Bapist Etter in Menzingen was a part-time employee of the company and had already made his own cherries. Through this he laid the foundation for a success story. In 1879 Paul Etter founded the industrial distillery Etter. The company continued to concentrate on cherry distillation for 110 years. It wasn't until 1981, after a new building with state-of-the-art equipment, that the assortment was extended to other fruit varieties. 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

Delivering only the highest quality is a matter of course for Etter. To achieve this, a large number of high-quality individual steps are required during production. The sweet cherries, for example, come exclusively from the best locations in the Lake Zug region in the heart of Switzerland. At Etter, five completely different cherry brandies and many other fruit brandy specialities such as Williams pear or Vieille Prune are distilled.

The work with natural raw materials such as cherries and Williams pears is very complex. The variety, soil, climate, degree of ripeness and weather are decisive for the quality of the fruit brandies. Only fully ripe and aromatic fruits make their way into the distillery after a labour-intensive harvest. Therefore, in quantitatively good harvest years with outstanding quality, the products are fired in stock. All fruit varieties are then processed and fermented by Etter. Natural fermentation causes the important conversion of fructose into alcohol.

Distillation and maturation at Etter Söhne

The art of the burner is to separate the pre- and post-run from the middle course during distillation. This requires a lot of experience, a fine nose and a well-trained sense of taste. The purity, bouquet and intensity of the still young distillate are assessed by the Etter family together with the distiller. This means that each fruit brandy receives the personal signature of the house. By adding fresh Zugerberger spring water, the correct alcohol content for excellent drinking pleasure is finally achieved. The skillful maturation then ensures an excellent harmony of taste from the nose to the palate to the finish. Depending on the variety, the fruit brandies ripen for a few months or several years in the case of stone fruit.