Brandy rethought and redesigned

Interview Benjamin Scheuerer

Benjamin, how did you come up with this idea?

Benjamin Scheuerer

I've been watching the dull existence of brandy and brandy for ten years now. On the shelves: all brown and black labels and products from the 1950s and 1960s.  So sad. 

Why sad?

Scheuerer

Because nothing has happened, no innovation, nothing. Yet brandy is based on white wine. And Germany has the best white wines in the world – but no excellent brandies. 

So you decided to do something about it. An innovation. But how can you innovate an existing drink?

Scheuerer

We want to rethink brandy and work in a socially responsible and sustainable way. We have made some changes to the production process. We work with vacuum distillation. No cognac or brandy distiller in this country does that. This allows us to extract much, much more flavour from Riesling and Chardonnay. We focus exclusively on organic wines and work together with various organic winegrowers.

And who is the target group for this innovation?

Scheuerer

Traditionally, the target group for brandy and brandy is over 50, but we are not aiming at them. We are targeting the 25 to 45-year-olds. We offer them a regional product from Germany that is much fruitier and therefore more accessible than other brandies thanks to vacuum distillation. You can also mix nice aperitifs from it, because they don't come across so much with the "wooden club", but with a lot of fruit. And if we do want a little wood in it, then we use used barrels that only release a little tannin and tannins so that the brandy doesn't lose its fruitiness. 

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How do you reach this target group?

Scheuerer

We take a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, we go through the catering industry and bring Artwerk closer to bartenders and mixologists. High-end bars are the first port of call for us because mixologist bars always focus on new innovations and high-quality products. On the other hand, we go to an incredible number of events, gourmet fairs and design events. And we simply let people try them. Liquid to the lips. 

Would people drink the brandy neat at home?

Scheuerer

Of course you can. But it's also easy to mix with ginger ale and lime. Or with grapefruit lemonade. Very easy. 

And what about the low- and no-alcohol trend, especially among younger people?

Scheuerer

We're also thinking about the topic of alcohol-free and we've already made attempts in this direction – but the product doesn't yet have the quality we envisage. For now, we're growing in the area with alcohol.