Style of the Brandy

Williams pear, Himbeergeist, and Zibärtle all look similarly clear in the glass, yet they fall into three different legal categories. Williams pear is a fruit brandy under Category 9 of the EU Spirit Drinks Regulation, Himbeergeist is a spirit under Category 17, and Zibärtle is a fruit brandy made from an entirely different fruit.

Schwarzwälder Williamsbirne smells of ripe pear with a hint of honey and feels round, almost creamy, on the palate. It's a brandy made from a single variety alone, and the name itself marks the boundary from other pear brandies: only Williams may bear this name.

Schwarzwälder Himbeergeist smells more intensely of fresh berries than a Himbeerbrand does, since the berries have never been fermented. According to the EU register, it must be at least 40% ABV, while EU law generally sets 37.5% ABV as the minimum. Across the Rhine, in Alsace, Framboise d'Alsace is protected as a fruit brandy, meaning a fermented product.

Zibärtle is the outsider: dry and spicy, with a fine stone-fruit note and a faintly bitter almond edge that tastes of wild fruit rather than table fruit. Zibarten are small and sparse, and the result isn't an everyday brandy but a specialty.

Schwarzwälder Mirabellenwasser sits alongside Williams pear as its neighbor. It smells of ripe, yellow mirabelle and feels mild on the palate. Here too, the fruit must be harvested soft and fully ripe. The harvest day determines the outcome.