BECHEROVKA CZECH REPUBLIC
Herbal liqueur. Fortress 38%. Place of production – Karlovy Vary. A mixture of more than twenty different medicinal herbs is poured into bags of natural canvas and immersed in alcohol containers. Some herbs are native, some from Central Europe and some from South America and South Africa. The infusion is kept for a week. The resulting extract is mixed with Karlovy Vary water and sugar. Color – light golden, aroma of fresh citrus. Becherovka’s recipe is a big trade secret.
The author of the drink is Josef Vitus Becher. Traded in spices and colonial goods in his shop “House of the Three Woodlares”. He had an interest in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages.
An important event happened in the early 1800s. Karlovy Vary was visited by the English doctor Christian Frobrig, and here he made a cure for stomach diseases. Leaving, he gave the recipe to his friend Becher. “Only” two years of constant experimentation with the recipe turned the medicine into the wonderful liquor we know it today!
Becher began selling the drink in 1807. After 34 years, his son Johann Becher, continuing the work of his father, transferred production to industrial rails. In 1890 he registered the trademark “Johann Becher”. Since 1901, the company was headed by the brothers Rudolf and Michael. Becherovka began to be exported to Italy, France, Spain and Egypt. Production volumes reached 53 thousand liters per year. Since 1907, Becherovka began to be sold in the famous green bottle, replacing the colorless one.
Even the First World War did not prevent the sales of Becherovka and the growth of profits. The secret is simple – the army bought the bitter. In the thirties, Becherovka entered the markets of Great Britain and Canada, and after the end of the American industry, it also came to the USA. Before the Second World War, the enterprise was headed by a woman for the first time in history – Hedda (daughter of Alfred); she did not stop production. After the communists came to power, Becherovka was nationalized. Hedda was forced to hand over the recipe for bitters to the new government. But these were not the most terrible consequences of the Second World War for the Becher family. In 1945, Czechoslovakia began the deportation of the German population. Many German families never saw Germany and were killed along the way. The Becher family was also expelled from the country, although they lived here for several centuries.
The company began to be called “Becherovka”. The state owned the Becher liquor factory for 57 years and restitution put an end to this. Today the brand is owned by the French company Pernod-Ricard.
How to drink Becherovka? It is better to pour in piles, drink before dinner or late in the evening. You can drink on its own, pre-chilled. Can be added to tea or coffee. Becherovka has become the basis for many cocktails. It can be his mixture with currant juice, with tonic. Some wash down Becherovka with beer.
The world sells 7 million liters of Becherovka per year.
