Brandy Style

Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser is the region's signature brandy. It's colorless, dry, and intense in cherry aroma, with a touch of bitter almond from the stone. It is not sweet, and it is certainly not a cherry liqueur.

Kirschwasser, Kirschbrand, and Kirsch all mean the same thing: a fruit brandy made from fermented cherries. "Water" is a permitted alternative to "brandy," and the EU regulation also allows the short form "Kirsch."

Since 1989, the brandy from the Black Forest has carried the protected geographical indication "Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser." Similar designations of origin exist for Fränkisches Kirschwasser, Kirsch d'Alsace from Alsace, and Zuger Kirsch from Switzerland. So when someone in the Ortenau says Kirschwasser, they mean a place of origin, not just a fruit.

The second signature brandy is Schwarzwälder Zwetschgenwasser, also protected since 1989. It's rounder and softer in fruit character, darker in aroma, and carries a slightly nutty note from the stone. Tasting both side by side reveals just how different cherry and plum are in the glass.

The style has houses that carry it forward. The Brennerei Fies in Oberkirch-Ringelbach was founded in 1948 by Franz and Elise Fies and is now run by the third generation. In Kappelrodeck in the Achertal, Emil Scheibel acquired the Schwarzwaldhof in 1921, which remains the seat of Brennerei Scheibel to this day. Two producers, two signatures, the same fruit. Comparing them teaches you faster what style means in a fruit brandy than any description could: it lies in the selection of the fruit, the cut made during distilling, and the rest that follows.