Hans Reisetbauer Plum Eau-de-Vie

Zwetschke is the Austrian plum — a small, oval, deeply flavored variety that's the foundation of the region's entire plum brandy tradition, and Hans Reisetbauer grows 2,000 of his own organic-certified Hauszwetschke trees on the family farm in Axberg, Upper Austria, for exactly this bottle. The harvest timing is the craft: the plums are picked in September only once they're fully ripe and just beginning to dry out on the tree, the moment when sugars and aromatics are most concentrated. The fruit is finely chopped, the pits carefully removed — which is why there's none of the bitter stone character that mars lesser plum brandies — and the mash ferments 14 days at a precisely held 19°C in stainless steel before double distillation in a Christian Carl copper pot still, keeping only the heart. It rests a minimum of three years in stainless steel and bottles at 41.5% ABV. Ten kilograms of plums, over 22 pounds, go into every liter. Expect a flatteringly creamy nose reminiscent of caramel pudding, then the full spectrum of the fruit from nose to finish — fresh plum, candied plum, plum skin — with lemongrass, orange blossom, hints of angelica root, and a faint gentian earthiness underneath, round and silky on the palate with a chocolatey depth. K&L's buyers called these Austrian spirits magic. Serve lightly chilled after dinner, or beside a slice of plum cake.

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