Food & Tradition

Tradition in Oberkirch mostly means being out and about. The Oberkircher Brennersteig is a roughly 14-kilometer hiking trail around the Hesselbacher Tal, passing the Geigerskopfturm with its view across the Rhine plain to the Vosges Mountains. Along the way, distilleries invite hikers in for tastings, some by appointment.

In Baden, cherry season means Kirschenplotzer, a bake of cherries and stale bread that turns golden brown in the oven. Some households add a splash of Kirschwasser to the batter, but only a splash, since the brandy should lift the fruit, not overpower it. Late summer brings Zwetschgenkuchen (plum cake), which pairs with Zwetschgenwasser just as the Plotzer pairs with Kirsch.

In pastry-making and desserts, Kirschwasser is used to round out flavor, in pralines as well as in creams and fruit fillings. A splash is enough to make cherries taste even more like cherries, and most of the alcohol evaporates during baking.

A Kirsch at the end of a meal is regarded here as a digestif, a way of rounding off the dining experience. It doesn't actually speed up digestion; if anything, alcohol slows it down. The good feeling afterward is simply relaxation.

In spring, when the cherry trees blossom, hikers flock to the orchard slopes, and in 2026 the focus in Oberkirch was on the 300th anniversary of its distilling rights. Anyone wishing to visit a distillery should book ahead, since these are farms, not restaurants. For families with fruit trees, summer is the season for picking cherries and bringing them to the distiller.