From the Producer:
The Freimeisterkollektiv is a merger of individualists – a joining of independent distillers and leading bartenders. In order to take back the spirits market from global corporations, we propose a new way to taste and fresh, contemporary marketing channels.
INGREDIENTS:
- Wormwood
- Lemon Balm
- Licorice
- Orange Blossom
- Elderberry
- Lemongrass
- Sugar
- Uhudler
- Sulphites
PREPARATION:
Lisa Bauer always uses the distillate for her Vermouths by distilling the same wine she uses as the basis of her Vermouth. By vacuum distillation she gently extracts all the aromas from the wine at low temperatures.
But before she can distill, she has to make a wine from the Uhudler grapes. As soon as the mash of the Uhudlers is fermenting, interruption is impossible. Lisa says: “I tried that a few years ago and failed miserably. When Uhudler is fermenting, it has its own dynamics. One notices in spontaneous fermentation that other yeast strains are active. To stop this, you would have to put it in the freezer. “Uhudler fermented down to 1 gram of residual sugar, and already during the fermentation one notices the “foxy” aromas, the famous smell of strawberries and wild berries. Then it is important to remove the wine immediately from the yeast and fill it in a stainless steel tank. Uhudler gets along very well. With a 1,000 liter tank, without filtration, after four to five weeks, you will have a very fine wine, without many cloudy substances, explains Lisa.
The herbs for the maceration selects Lisa in terms of the typical berry flavors of the Uhudler. In addition to bitter wormwood and gentian root, liquorice root, lemon balm, orange and elderflower blossoms and lemongrass emphasize the fruity components of the Uhudler.
LISA BAUER
Distiller, Winemaker | Fehring, Styria
Lisa Bauer grew up in the Styrian volcanic region as the daughter of a family of winegrowers. Here her family runs a small mixed farm and a “Buschenschank”, a tavern typical for this region for self-pressed wines and cold dishes.
At the College of Viticulture Silberberg in Styria she received her first training and then graduated from the Federal College of Viticulture and Pomology in Klosterneuburg near Vienna with A levels and Bachelor. In addition to studying viticulture and oenology, Lisa Bauer acquired extensive expertise in fruit processing, mashing and distillation. From childhood on she was already familiar with distilling, because at the parental farm the homegrown fruits were distilled in a small 90-liter pot still.
During her internship at a Mallorcan wine estate, Bauer learned to make gin in the connected distillery. After her apprenticeship, she took a job as a distiller in a large distillery, where up to 2 million kilos of pears, plums and apricots were processed each year. In 2016 she worked at a winery in Casablanca Chile and in a bodega in Argentina. There she was involved in the construction of the new distillery Casa Tapaus, distilled from pomace of the winery Grappa and was responsible for the development of the first gin.
At the end of 2016 Bauer returned to Austria and founded her own gin brand. She wants, as she emphasizes, “to distill opulent gins that stay in your memory. A lot of juniper and many botanicals are supposed to shape the complex taste pattern.”
Due to her excellent education and many years of experience Lisa Bauer is already a true connoisseur of aromas and herbs. She creates her recipes like a perfumer. In advance, she thinks exactly what aromas and drugs she needs for a perfect composition.
For the Freimeisterkollektiv Lisa Bauer developed her first vermouth.