Our beginnings can be traced back to the year 1895. At that time, our great-grandfather Andreas Betz founded the distillery in a small, picturesque village near Schwäbisch Gmünd, in Waldstetten at the foot of the Swabian Alb. Even at that time, carefully selected fruits and the traditional distilling process were part of our principles. To this day nothing has changed. Our distillery is now being run in the fourth generation and is characterized by an exclusive range of whisky, gin, vodka and in-house fine spirits and liqueurs from wooden casks.
Out of tradition we always set ourselves new goals. One of these heartfelt projects was the production of our first own Betz Single Malt Whisky. Since 2019 we produce the first Demeter-certified whisky in Germany and are mighty proud of it.
Our ambition is to always make our products a little bit better and at the same time develop new ones. We can not help it – distilling simply is our greatest passion!
All ingredients for our spirits come from local farms. Before processing, we check each and every raw ingredient again for its quality. After that we grind the grain to optimal size. We use the whole grain for this. Afterwards, the mash is created in the so-called cold mashing process. Water and grain are mixed and heated to 75 degrees. After cooling, organic yeast is added. The fermentation phase then begins, which lasts about four days. After this fermentation period, the mash is taken to the distillation unit and gently distilled.
Filtration
Whisky, Gin & Liqueurs
These are only coarsely filtered so that the “floating particles” are removed, but as little as possible of the flavour is lost.
Vodka
This is where the art of filtration is in demand – the vodka should be as neutral in taste as possible but retain the character of the actual distillate. We have developed a special sequence for this, in which we give the distillate some time to recover after each filtering process. A filtering process can be compared to a 1000-metre run. The distillate always needs some time to recover after filtering. Then the process is repeated. This is how we get a perfect result.
Maturation
The maturation takes place in new as well as in already used oak casks. These were used for the maturation of sherry, wine, rum, port wine or other high-quality distillates. This gives the whisky its own note and special taste. External influences also play a major role in storage. In our warehouse, the casks are constantly exposed to weather and seasons. These changing conditions make each of our distillates unique!
At the moment we are also working on the production of our own wooden casks. From oak trees that grow in our own forest in Waldstetten, at the foot of the “Cold Field”.
