Michelberger Booze

Michelberger Booze is Berlin's most beloved boutique hotel's take on traditional German schnaps, fusing cutting-edge design with time-tested ingredients and methods. When modern ideas and old-school schnapps production methods clash, you get Michelberger Alcohol. Initiated by the hotel's owners, Tom Michelberger and Nadine May, and Preussishe Spirituosen Manufaktur's Gerald Schroff and Dr. Ulf Stahl (aka "The Professor") (PSM). The Potato Stabilization Institute (PSM) was established in 1874 by German Emperor Wilhelm I as a research and training center for alcohol manufacture in response to falling potato prices caused by a string of harvest surpluses. The plan was to use alcohol made from potatoes as fuel. Max Delbrück, a chemist and member of the German patent office at the time, oversaw this project and made PSM a pioneer in the study of fermentation and distillation. By combining "the sword of science" and "the armor of practice," Delbrück was confident that German beer would soon surround the globe. PSM thrived under his leadership, and the distillery's "Eagle"-branded spirits, which peaked in prominence at the turn of the century, were among its most notable products. Obviously, the old splendor of PSM was destroyed by two world wars and the Great Depression. Despite efforts from distiller Ernst Dobislaw in the 1950s, the distillery remained dormant for another half-century, until Schroff and Stahl purchased it in 2005. Formerly Berlin was home to more than a hundred distilleries of a similar size, but today only one stands alone. Michelberger Forest and Michelberger Mountain are accurate recreations of vintage PSM herbal schnaps recipes. Anise, sage, fennel, lemon balm, peppermint, cardamom, thyme, coriander, caraway, and other botanicals went into the re-distillation of Mountain, a crisp and invigorating schnaps, while gentian root, vanilla, and other ingredients went into the creation of Forest, an amaro-like spirit.