La Distillerie Miclo

Produced from the fermentation or maceration of fruit, eaux de vie are one of the specialities of the canton. Almost all the fruits have been distilled! The choice of the fruits is essential, the follow-up of the fermentation, the distillation and finally the ageing are the important steps to obtain the best quality.

"Made from the fermentation or maceration of fruit, eaux de vie are one of the specialities of the canton. Almost all the fruits have been distilled! The choice of the fruits is essential, the follow-up of the fermentation, the distillation and finally the ageing are the important steps to obtain the best quality.

For a long time, brandies were the basic consumption of the population: fortifying, relaxing, remedy for stomach aches or to heal wounds...
Until the 1950s, cherry orchards represented a considerable activity. The workers went to pick the cherries after their work: they received half of the harvest and the owner of the cherry tree the other half. The harvest was sold to the distillers. To make the famous kirsch (here called cherry water)
The right to distil has always been very much regulated by the administration, for tax reasons. Of course fraud existed and some clandestine distillers worked preferably on snowy days which made it difficult for the controllers to access the farms...
Located in one of the most beautiful regions of Alsace, a few kilometers from Colmar just after the wonderful village of Kaysersberg. The MICLO Distillery has been able to combine the oldest tradition with modern distillation equipment.

Most of the wild berries come from the region. However, one has to go as far as Romania to find wild raspberries in sufficient quantity.
The Williams pear comes from the Rhone valley and more particularly from the Drôme which brings all its sunshine.
All these fruits must be healthy, ripe and have the highest possible sugar content.
They are then crushed in a machine that does not break the stone so as not to release the almond it contains which would give a bitterness during distillation.
Then, fermentation or maceration (depending on the nature of the fruit) will transform the sugar of the fruit into alcohol.
And finally, the traditional double distillation or all the distiller's know-how lies in the choice of what he will keep and what he will discard in order to keep only the heart of the second distillation called "heart of heating".
To this heart it will be necessary to add the pure water from the Vosges valleys which will (process called the wetting) which will allow to bring the degree from 70° to 40°/45° which is the degree of marketing.
It is difficult to explain in a few words all the art of transforming fruit into alcohol, but if you wish to deepen your knowledge of our trade, you can come and visit the distillery from April 1st to October 30th from Monday to Friday at 4.30 pm. Saturday and Sunday by appointment. Free visit and tasting".