A handmade premium product
using a well-tried family recipe.
Our family business proudly looks back on many decades of tradition and experience. It was in the 1980s when senior pharmacist Dr Helmut Wittig first produced the herbal bitter in the Böttger pharmacy. He created this secret family recipe and the unmistakable Böttger-Bitter flavour using all natural ingredients.
Dr Jörg Wittig is now the head of the project. With him and the next generation working at the Erlenmeyer flasks, the Böttger-Bitter has become a modern spirit whose many variations are loved by young and old alike.
Experience &
passion
since 1982.
Many pharmacies produce herbal bitters according to recipes handed down from generation to generation. In 1965 Dr. Helmut Wittig started a job at „Hirsch-Apotheke“ pharmacy in Schleiz and set to work on a custom-made spirit.
He read, blended and sampled: pharmacopoeia tinctures, medicinal herbs, alcohol, water. Each experiment and ever more knowledge gave rise to a list of ingredients which later served as the basic recipe for a new taste sensation.
This was reflected in the „wild 1980s“, when the new herbal bitter, so far without a name, enjoyed great popularity. In 1982 „Hirsch“ pharmacy was renamed „Böttger“ pharmacy (after Johann-Friedrich Böttger), which also gave the bitter its name: Böttger-Bitter. Fast-forward to today, the Böttger-Bitter is a well known herbal bitter in the region as well as a growing company with many old and new faces, but above all with a lot of regional charm.
Time flies, and before you know it
nothing has been drunk.
nothing has been drunk.
Regional.
Handmade.
Cosmopolitan.
More and more regional businesses welcome conscious shoppers. We want to help shape this trend, because the variety and quality which regional producers stand for is truly overwhelming.
We want to be for Thuringia what whiskey is for Ireland: a lovingly produced product that is rooted in the culture and inspires the world with its regional identity. A statement for connoisseurs.
This includes our craft: our product is not machine-produced and we abstain from huge batches. Each bottle that leaves our manufactory is a handmade delicacy.
With experience, transparency, and a cosmopolitan mindset, we combine classic drinking culture with modern trends. Always with a heart for tradition and new product ideas in mind – for example our long drinks and cocktails.
With an artisan's
attention to detail.
Quality control
of raw materials
Before the medicinal herbs and roots are turned into our own Böttger-Bitter blend they have to pass quality control in our laboratory. The suppliers of our ingredients undergo a rigorous selection process. This guarantees products of outstanding quality.
With an artisan's
attention to detail.
Weighing
of the base substances
Following quality control, we blend the 13 medicinal herbs and roots (plant raw materials) of the family recipe. This is all about finesse and an eye for detail because every gram counts. And true to our slogan, we put together everything that belongs together.
With an artisan's
attention to detail.
Maceration
Maceration is almost like a wedding. Our herb and root blend is now mixed with pure alcohol. As a blend, our ingredients now develop the best that nature has given them: amazing flavours and bitter compounds.
With an artisan's
attention to detail.
Determining
ethanol content
Every good spirit needs a precise alcohol content – and ours is no different. Using specially developed measuring methods and modern measuring technology (the Fourier transform spectrometer), we ensure that the ingredients are exactly as stated on the label.
With an artisan's
attention to detail.
Bottling
As a manufactory, we work mainly by hand. However, this production step makes use of our bottling machine. It fills our golden-yellow (Classic) or green (Mint) Böttger-Bitter into the characteristic bulbous glass bottles with to-the-millilitre accuracy.
With an artisan's
attention to detail.
Corking
and labelling
After bottling, we give our Böttger-Bitter its exquisite garb by hand. We then cork the bottles and proudly seal them, which marks the product as coming from artisanal production.
With an artisan's
attention to detail.
Regular
quality control
Before a batch starts its journey to our connoisseurs, its quality is checked one last time. Once this step has been successfully completed, our Böttger-Bitter is ready to be sold.
13 hand-picked
medicinal herbs and roots.
100% natural.
Our Böttger-Bitter is made only from genuine herbs. We only put in it what actually belongs in it.
