Aqua Vitae Sydfyn

About the distillery

Aqua Vitae Sydfyn is located in Skårup on South Funen and works with fruit brandies, eau de vie, organic brandies, barrel-aged apple brandies and spiced brandies. It is a small place with a clearly local basis, where South Funen fruits and home-grown grapes become clear distillates and more mature barrel-aged editions. There is a farm shop, sales and guided tours, and the style is driven by the fruit's own character.

History

The Ingrid Marie variety plays a clear historical role here: the parent tree first bore fruit in 1915, and the tree is still alive. It is a good marker for the fruit tradition that Aqua Vitae Sydfyn continues. The company also offers to distill customers' own fruit, and that approach is associated with a small production where a batch corresponds to around 200 kilos of fruit and about eight months from receipt to drink-ready brandy. In this way the history is not built around large industrial leaps, but around a craft that is based on fruit, patience and small batch sizes. The range also shows a development from pure fruit distillates to geists, organic brandies and aged apple editions, all of which remain rooted in the same South Funen raw material base.

Raw materials and production

Aqua Vitae Sydfyn works with South Funen fruits and grapes, including apples, pears, plums, cherries, quinces, strawberries and raspberries as well as their own grapes. The distillates range from pure eaux-de-vie to geists, where the fruit is allowed to macerate in fruit brandy and is then distilled again to lift aroma and flavor. Production is small, and it is possible to have brandy made from your own fruit. A batch corresponds to approximately 200 kilos of fruit, and special labels are also offered for orders. The modest production capacity makes it possible to work in small, seasonal batches where the raw material is allowed to determine the character.

Aging and cask types

Aging is used especially in the barrel-aged apple brandies, where oak casks, whisky casks and sherry casks are all part of the range. One of the editions is aged in used bourbon barrels from, among others, Jack Daniel's, Woodford and Jim Beam. This creates a spectrum between a pure fruit distillate and more complex, cask-influenced versions. At the same time there are also completely clear editions, so the house works both with direct fruit aroma and with the rounding role of aging.

Whiskies

The range gathers around several families. The clear eaux-de-vie include, among others, plum, pear, cherry, quince, Ingrid Marie and Sydfynsk Grape Brandy as well as geists on strawberry and raspberry. The organic brandies include, among others, Filippa Økologisk, which is noted as the winner of Økologisk Guld 2009, as well as Aroma and Distilateur. In addition there are the barrel-aged apple brandies and a number of spiced brandies such as Kirsebær Ratafia, Jægerdram, Lystfiskerdram, Lommelærken, Bitter and Landsbydram. The whole is broad, but always centered on fruit distillates and a South Funen raw material character.

Style and flavor profile of the whiskies

The style is consistently fruit-driven and clean. The plum edition has a sweet plum flavor with an almond note, the cherry edition a pronounced cherry profile with almond, and the pear distillates are lightly sweet and very pear-like. Ingrid Marie stands as a characteristic apple brandy, where the apple is clear in both aroma and flavor, while quince, strawberry and raspberry also appear clear and direct. There is a recognizable balance between the fruit's ripeness and a slight bitter or nutty undertone in several of the editions.

Visit the distillery

Aqua Vitae Sydfyn can be visited in Skårup, where there are sales, a farm shop and guided tours. Visits and orders are arranged directly with Lene True or Karsten Kjer Michaelsen, and the company also ships goods by order. Visits require prior arrangement, so you can get a more personal introduction to the production and range.

Philosophy and craftsmanship

The company is clearly rooted in local South Funen raw materials and small batches. Patience plays a large role, both when making brandy from customers' own fruit and when the distillates are given time to develop. There is also a flexible side, where customers can get special labels and where production can be adapted to the season. It is a craft where the fruit, time and close collaboration with customers are central.

Awards and recognitions

• Organic Gold (2009, Winner, Filippa Økologisk)