Etter - La Fine Eau de Vie

Distillery Etter - a long history

As early as 1823, farmer Johann Baptist Etter in Menzingen operated distilling from his own cherries as a sideline. This laid the foundation for a success story. In 1879, Paul Etter founded the commercial distillery Etter. For the next 110 years, the focus remained exclusively on cherry distillation. It was not until 1981, after a new building with modern facilities, that the product range was expanded to other fruit varieties. But that's not all; in 2010, the first Johnett Swiss Single Malt Whiskey was launched, and two years later, the 4th generation took over the distillery.

Highest quality in all areas

Delivering only the highest quality is a given for the Etter company. To achieve this, a variety of high-quality individual steps are necessary during production. The sweet distilling cherries come exclusively from the best locations in the Zugersee region in the heart of Switzerland. At the Etter house, five completely different cherry brandies and many other fruit brand specialties such as Williams pear or Vieille Prune are distilled. 

Working with natural raw materials like cherries and Williams pears is very labor-intensive. Variety, soil, climate, ripeness, and weather are critical for the quality of the fruit brandies. Only fully ripe and aromatic fruits make their way to the distillery after a labor-intensive harvest. In quantitatively good harvest years with outstanding quality, therefore, production is done in advance. All fruit varieties are then processed at the Etter house and brought to fermentation. The natural fermentation causes the important conversion of fruit sugar into alcohol.

Distillation and aging at Etter Söhne

The art of the distiller lies in separating the heads and tails from the heart during distillation. This requires a lot of experience, a keen nose, and a well-trained palate. Purity, bouquet, and intensity of the still young distillate are assessed by the Etter family together with the master distiller. This gives each fruit brand its personal stamp from the house. By adding fresh Zugerberger spring water, the right alcohol content for excellent drinking enjoyment is finally achieved. Afterwards, skilled aging ensures excellent flavor harmony from the nose through the palate to the finish. Depending on the variety, the fruit brandies age for several months or, in the case of stone fruits, several years.