Asbach Uralt Brand
Cellars: £34.50
A deep golden colour, cognac character but fruitier Grape and oak aroma. Clean, crisp with a strong flavour.
Country: Germany
Region: Rudesheim am Rhein
Producer: Asbach Distillers
Bottling: Distillery Bottling
Style: Blended Brandy
Owner: Asbach Distillers
Status: Operational
Age: 3 years
Cask Type: 100% Limousin Oak Cask
Colour: Deep Golden
Flavour Profile: Fruity, Grape and oak aroma.
Allergens: Not known
Bottle size: 70cl
abv: 38.0%
Distillery Information
Aged for three years, Asbach Original acquires its unique and distinctive taste through traditional distillation, careful storage for at least three years in Limousin oak casks and the secret Asbach maturing and refining process.
The Asbach history goes back to the year 1892, when company founder Hugo Asbach left his adopted home country of France and made his dream of an own company come true, in Rüdesheim am Rhein. He had previously acquired a high degree of know-
Ten years later, he created the new term "Weinbrand" for his brandies, to be used parallel to the term "Cognac" generally used in those times. A farsighted decision in fact, for when German producers were prohibited from using the term Cognac after 1919, the name Weinbrand had already been well-
A German Brandy blended from 25 different wine distillations, aged for up to 3 years in limousin oak casks.
The work does not stop with the selection of the right wines; the distillation process also has a decisive impact on the quality of Asbach. There is more to the distillation process than simply separating water and alcohol; the objective is to transfer the delicate aromatic substances of the wine as completely as possible into the distillate.
The wines are carefully distilled on yeast in copper stills. The procedure involves a traditional process of two stages -
The raw spirit has an alcohol content of about 40% volume and is the result of the first distillation stage. During the second distillation, one that is significantly more complex than the first, the aim is to obtain the actual fine spirit of about 75% volume, also known as the heart, that has the best characteristics for its later conversion into Asbach.
When the distillation process has been completed, the fresh wine distillates are transported to Ottersweier at the foot of the Black Forest. This is the site of the Asbach maturing cellar, unique among its kind and in its size, as well as the Asbach Treasure Trove.
The duration of the maturing process is the next step that is decisive for the high quality of the Asbach brandies. At Asbach, they leave the distillates in the small Limousin oak casks far longer than required by law until they have reached their full maturity and developed their characteristic bouquet.
The maturing process takes place in small oak casks made of wood from the Limousin oak that has been aged for a number of years. This wood has especially large pores and is air-
“The fine spirit draws the natural aroma and colour substances from the cask, and this is where the liquid, originally clear, gains its topaz colouring and subtle, harmonious wooden accents.
The part of the distillate that escapes, on the other hand, is lost; it fills the air in our cellars with an aromatic fragrance, which has led us to call it the angels’ share.”
The distillates, even of one type, never mature perfectly evenly within the distillate cellar because the wine distillate and the wood are both natural products that react differently from one cask to the next. The various distillates do not reach their full maturity and perfect harmony until the second maturing process in large vats made of Spessart oak.
Ultimately, however, it is the art of the master distiller that creates the masterpiece from various distillates of different origins and vintages.
The secret Asbach maturing and finishing process brings the complex production process to a close and gives Asbach its radiant topaz hue, harmoniously blended with the full aroma of wine and its characteristic bouquet.