Love of liqueur

Johannes Gehrig and Monica Gehrig-Himmel have breathed new life into a historic farmstead in the small village of Litzelbach. In their distillery, they refine Odenwald fruits into brandies, liqueurs and
fruit spreads that are always good for a surprise.

A new start in their mid 50s on a 400-year-old farmstead in a village of 160 residents in the Überwald with high spirits and lots of energy—will this work out? “You’ll only know if you try,” says Johannes Gehrig and laughs. And it did! Odenwälder Feine Spezialitäten is the name of the distillery he set up with Monica Gehrig-Himmel in Litzelbach, a district of Grasellenbach in the Überwald part of the Odenwald. They have both left their previous lives behind for this new project.

The historic farmstead has become a jewel. The autumn sun shines on the renovated half-timbering and exposed sandstone and casts a warm light on the wooden doors and flowerpots. Firewood is stacked in the former stable and a magnificent tree provides shade in the centre of the courtyard. It is a sweet chestnut, Keschde in local dialect. Farm dog Lilly jumps around excitedly, always looking for the next petting session.

A forest and meadows behind the farm provide a backdrop in shades of green, in front of which two cows graze with their calves—the farm’s summer guests. Then there are Ecco, the family’s aged horse, and the former circus ponies Maxi and Moritz. Johannes and Monica live in the main house. The former pigsty has become the sales and tasting room. The still is located in the former silage storage room. A good 1,000 to 1,300 litres of liqueur and 600 litres of schnapps are produced here every year as well as some 2,000 to 2,500 jars of fruit spread—all of it made by themselves.

The couple bought the farm in 2007 when Johannes was still working as a programmer in a publishing house and Monica in the administration of a residential home for people with disabilities. “The publishing house wasn’t doing so well,” says Johannes. “It had been clear for a while that I should look for an alternative.” And he quickly knew that this alternative would not be another office job. His dream had long been to have his own family-run distillery. His family used to have a plot of land in Lampertheim. A large number of fruit trees grew on the 400 square metre allotment. His father took the harvest to a distiller every year. “I adopted his hobby and carried it on.” He subsequently wanted to turn his hobby into a profession. They just needed a suitable location.

We both knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. But easy is pretty dull anyway

They searched for two years, all the way from Weinheim to the Bavarian border, until they came across this listed three-sided farm in Litzelbach. “The farm appealed to us straight away, even if it was in a catastrophic condition,” says Monica. “We immediately came up with ideas about what could be built where and what it could look like.” They went for it and lived on the upper floor of the main house at the beginning—with single-glazed windows and a smelly oil heater. “The ground floor was completely uninhabitable.” The first winter, they say, was tough, but they never had any doubts about their project. “We both knew that it wasn’t going to be easy,” says Johannes. “But easy is pretty dull anyway.”

They gradually renovated the entire farm, almost on their own. Johannes even took a course in clay construction. “We really wanted to preserve the character of the farm and use natural materials wherever possible,” he explains. This resulted in the creation of many cosy corners. Even the sales room with its old wooden furniture looks more like a living room. Numerous bottles line the space here. They are not standard bottles, but exceptional ones from Italian and French manufacturers. The idea is to make clear even from the outside that there is something very special inside.

Someone else took care of the distillation process during the first few years. When Johannes was eventually given notice from his employer, they decided to go all in. This required Johannes going back to school—to the agricultural college. Two years later, he was a state-certified distiller and could acquire a distilling licence. He has been experimenting ever since. With fruit varieties, ripening methods, aromas and flavours. Always on the lookout for the next treat for the taste buds.

Johannes produces classics such as Alte Birne from pears and Alte Zwetschge from plums—using an individual trick, of course. “We add some dried fruit as well, to create a more intense flavour.” His speciality is grape brandies, “single varieties,” he clarifies straight away, such as the brandies made from Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer. His Sylvaner brandy matured in a chestnut barrel won a gold medal at the Destillata fair in Vienna in 2020.

Apart from traditional varieties, Johannes has many unusual products in his range, such as a brandy made from iced apple wine. Sounds sophisticated, “but it was an accident,” he explains. His cider accidentally froze one winter. When it slowly thawed again, it tasted much milder. So what to do with 150 litres of cider that no longer really taste like cider? “Distil it, of course!” Out came a mild brandy with an amazingly strong apple flavour. The liqueurs of their range rather accentuate finely combined flavours as well, instead of overwhelming the tongue with sweetness.

Monica is particularly proud of the clementine spirit. It is one of the most expensive products in the range. For one simple reason: “It’s a hell of a job.” They processed 25 kilograms of clementines for it, peeling and filleting every single fruit by hand. “It was worth it.” And there is hardly an idea too crazy for Johannes. When a baker asked him if he could make a liqueur from pretzel dumplings, he immediately accepted the challenge. “However, this one went down the drain.”

Monica is just as experimental and creative when cooking her fruit spreads as Johannes is at distilling. She used to travel through the Odenwald with the Traktor-Theater Tromm construction trailer and tell fairy tales to children (click here for our Wo Sonst story about the theatre on Tromm mountain). She now adds her passion for old stories to her fruit spreads. These are given names such as Die Geschichte vom Marillenbaum (The story of the apricot tree) or Die drei goldenen Äpfel (The three golden apples). She likes turning the glass so the label isn’t visible while she lets you taste the varieties. “It’s more fun that way.” She combines raspberries with tonka beans, cherries with marzipan and apples with chilli. Unusual, but never random. The fruit for the spreads comes from the Odenwald, as the fruit for the brandies with just grapes being an exception—from farmers and friendly families, or from initiatives such as the Streuobstwiesenretter organisation, which works toward meadow orchard preservation.

Every third Sunday in November, they celebrate distiller’s day on their farm. The old wood-fired oven behind the house is heated up for this feast. “We discovered it during the renovation,” says Johannes. Freshly baked bread, Monica’s fruit spreads and Johannes’ brandies and liqueurs are on offer then—in front of an autumnal Odenwald panorama.

www.odw-feine-spezialitaeten.eu

The farm shop at Scharbacher Straße 7 in Litzelbach is open Wednesdays and Fridays from 5 to 6 pm and Saturdays from 2 to 4 pm. Outside of these times, simply call them at: +49 6253 807203.

Johannes and Monica offer distillate and liqueur tastings as well.