Fruit & Raw Material

In the Pöllauer Valley, in the Hartberg district, grows a pear found almost nowhere else: according to the register, the Hirschbirne thrives almost exclusively in the Pöllauer Valley Nature Park, an area of around 124 square kilometers. The trees can live up to 200 years and withstand frost well. The fruit is large, greenish-yellow to reddish-brown, with very juicy, yellowish-white flesh.

Harvest runs from late September to mid-October, with the pears reaching peak ripeness in October and November. The Hirschbirne is considered a chance Styrian seedling, believed to have emerged around 1860 at the latest—possibly as early as 1800—and is thought to descend from the Welsche Bratbirne. Besides brandy, it's also used to make juice and Kletzen, or dried pears.

When it comes to apples, Eastern Styria is Austria's heartland: according to the regional tourism board, three out of four Austrian apples come from here. But for brandy, it's the old varieties that matter. The Styrian Maschanzker first appears in the Pomological Monthly Journal in 1877, likely originated in Styria before 1800, and is considered especially rich in vitamins.

The Kronprinz Rudolf is a chance seedling discovered by Johann Klöckner in the 19th century in Wolfgruben near Gleisdorf, east of Graz. It has been cultivated since around 1860, was shown at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair, and bears the name of the Austrian crown prince of the time.

The Kriecherl, also known as the oat plum (Prunus insititia), is a small blue plum used to distill Styrian Kriacherl. The rowanberry, fruit of the mountain ash, is traditionally distilled in Tyrol, Styria, and Salzburg, though it yields very little brandy relative to the quantity of fruit used.