Last Tuesday around noon we buried our noses in Wise Grus's apricot brandy — which smells of a living, July-ripe, sweet summer apricot.
The aromas and flavours of apricot reminded us of the apricot brandy of the great Austrian distiller Alois Gölles, whose guiding motto reads: "There must be nothing in my fruit brandies but fruit" — writes plavakamenica.hr.
"We buy apricots in Aljmaš, pears near Varaždin and plums in Kordun. All the fruit for our distillates comes from Croatia," one of the founders proudly announced. Goran Kovačić reported later: "We won two golds and a silver at the competition in Frankfurt." The gold-winning products were Dunja and Lozovača, while Šljivovica took silver.
Wise Grus uses only real, ripe fruit and has acquired German copper stills for distillation. Fermentation takes place in large temperature-controlled tanks, and part of the ageing of the distillate takes place in barrique barrels in a dedicated hall of the distillery in Daruvar.
The owners plan to produce around 200,000 litres of brandy a year. The new distillery could encourage continental producers to collaborate, much like the Istrian winemaking model.
