Handcrafted Original Lechtal Dry Gin
The history of Biber & Engel began in Bach in Tyrol, where Arno and Gerhard decided to make their own gin that would satisfy their taste and their high standards. Their search for the perfect ingredients took them on a journey across the whole world of botanicals. But it is only after they returned home that they found what they had been looking for all along.
It took three years of passionate and precise experimentation with our tiny 1.5 liter Alembic copper still in our small workshop in Bach until we found our formula. Today, Biber & Engel is being distilled in a 75 liter pot still but just as gently and accurately as on day one and as always, locally, in Lechtal
Hidden in the remotest regions of the Tyrolean Alps, the Lechtal is known for its rich and unspoiled nature and its iconic juniper trees and bushes that thrive within the lush fir forests on both sides of the river Lech. Here grows the only ingredient that every gin must contain by definition.
Juniper alone does not make an exceptional gin. Gin’s most important ingredient is water. Why? Because almost 60% of it is water, of course! That is why, for Biber & Engel, we only take the purest water straight from the Lechtal Alps. Honestly, we could not think of a place in the world that has better water.
The first half of Biber & Engel’s name comes from a plant called pimpinella saxifraga / pimpinella alpina, or as the locals call it: Bibernelle. It grows on the Lechtal’s thick meadows and its aromatic root has been used as a medicine (against the Plague, among others) since the Middle Ages.
According to legend, the Angelica archangelica (Engelwurz) got its name when an archangel appeared to a pious man and showed him the plant as a cure for the Plague. Be that as it may, the angelica root lends its unique taste to Biber & Engel and adds depth and finesse to its aromatic spectrum.
Out of the thirteen Botanicals that shape the taste of Biber & Engel, we manually collect seven in the forests and meadows of the Tyrolean Alps. The other six come from the finest organic products. We’re no big fans of compromise in that regard.
No matter if it is about collecting herbs, distilling, tasting and refining, designing or copywriting: everything is done by ourselves, our friends, and our family. We all strive to achieve the best possible result – and the most authentic one. By the way: the motif on the label was designed by the talented Viennese artist Evgenia Karp.
