After multiple stages of distillation, the condensed spirit is collected into large bulging bottles. Once it has been blended it is then poured into delicate liquor bottles to rest and mature. There are so many myths around the art of distilling that Roland chooses to ignore. While some distillers will wait for a full moon to travel to find the perfect water source, Roland simply chooses to turn on the tap in Rankweil, “I have never noticed an improvement with different water, the water I have here is incredible. For me it is the perfect blend of all the amazing local ingredients, the fruit, the water and the wood.”
There are many other ancient distilling myths that go back generations, like the curse of mixing of different types of sugars, that can make other distillers nervous. Roland however, enjoys experimenting and trying new and alternative ingredients, such as unusual exotic fruits.
Recently he tried making coffee liquor, blending two of his favourite drinks, and did it work? “I think coffee schnapps is wonderful. Schnapps can carry so many different flavours, for example I have a sage schnapps that is prefect for fighting off a head cold. Recently I was on holiday and I saw a huge kumquat tree. I was really lucky because the farmer gave me a whole bucket of fruit. There will be kumquat schnapps next season. An opportunity like this you get only once”.