Episode 11: Zwack Unicum
Episode 11 is dedicated to Zwack Unicum, the national drink of Hungary. It's a bittersweet herb liqueur bottled at 40% alcohol by volume, 80 proof.
Enjoy this episode with some Zwack neat!
Zwack's official website: https://zwackunicum.hu/en/
Brief Historical Timeline:
- 1790 - Unicum invented by Dr. Zwack
- 1840 - Zwack Company founded to commercialize Unicum
- 1883 - Hungarian trademark for Unicum issued
- 1890s - The Zwack distillery produces more than 200 products
- 1892 - New distillery completed on the banks of the Danube
- 1895 - "Sole Purveyors to the Imperial and Royal Court of Emperor Franz Josef" designation
- 1899 - Begin using the Red Cross on bottles
- 1930s - Company run by brothers Bela and Jonas Zwack
- 1940s - WWII destroys the distillery
- 1945-48 - Distillery rebuilt
- 1948 - Communist regime confiscates the distillery and business
- 1958 - Janos wins an injunction agains the US importer
- 1970s - Peter Zwack, son of Bela, oversees Unicum production in Italy
- 1988 - Peter partners with the state-run Zwack distillery in Hungary
- 1992 - Peter and partners buy out the state at the fall of communism
- 1993 - Zwack Unicum Company listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange
- 2004 - Unicum Next introduced
Key Cocktail:
Zwack isn't very suitable for mixing.
You simply drink it neat. Or chilled, many in Hungary keep a bottle in the freezer.
References:
Hungarian Unicum website: https://unicum.hu/
CNN article on Hungary's National Drink
Wikipedia article on Zwack
Bon Appetit article on Zwack Unicum
Contact Information:
Official show website is: www.liquorandliqueurconnoisseur.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liquorandliqueurconnoisseur
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/LiquorandLiqueurConnoisseur/
Twitter: @LLConnoisseur
