Konig's Westphalian Gin

Konig's Westphalian Gin was a Steinhäger gin produced up to the early part of the twentieth century from mineral water at H. C. König's "model distillery" in Steinhagen, Westphalia, Germany, said at the time to be the largest and the oldest gin distillery in the world. The gin was first produced in 1640.[1]

Advertising in the Royal Colonial Institute Year Book 1913.
Advertising in the Royal Colonial Institute Year Book 1914.

Background

By an edict of 1688, the "Great Elector" Frederick William of Brandenburg, in his capacity as Count of Ravensberg, granted the inhabitants of Steinhagen the exclusive privilege to distil alcohol and the area is still known for its Steinhäger gins (wacholder),[2][3][4] distilled from crushed, fermented, juniper berries[5] from the bushes of that plant that grow on the slopes of the nearby Teutoburg Forest. In the nineteenth century around twenty companies produced the spirit. Only gins distilled near Steinhagen can legally be called Steinhäger gins.[6]

Marketing

Since Konig's gin was much like other Steinhäger gins, it sought to differentiate itself from its competitors through exaggerated advertising slogans.[1]

The gin claimed unlikely medicinal benefits under the slogan, "The Spirit that rejuvenates". Other such slogans included "The only perfect gin", "The Royal Liqueur" and "The Royal Appetiser & Digestive".[1] Its advertising included the obviously spurious claim that it was "highly recommended by all doctors against kidney, bladder and stomach troubles and especially for cholera, malaria and typhus".[1]

In common with other contemporary gins,[7] König's was sold in tall stoneware (steingut) bottles, and Konig's was given a red seal in an attempt to make it distinctive. The gin was widely advertised in yearbooks of the period such as The Stage Year Book and the Royal Colonial Institute Year Book and in magazines like The English Illustrated Magazine.

Konig's gin has been marketed in Germany as "Steinhäger-Urquell" ("urquell" translates as "original source" or "wellspring", as with the beer Pilsner Urquell), in an effort to establish a claim as the original and authentic Steinhäger gin.[8]

Claim of Royal warrant

The firm's advertising said that the gin was supplied to the British House of Commons and House of Lords, and it claimed that the firm held a royal warrant of appointment.[1]

Claim of awards

König boasted that the spirit had over 250 Grand Prix and gold medals from trade fairs.[1] The company's gins and liqueurs were shown at the World's Columbian Exposition (The Chicago World's Fair) of 1893.[9]

H.C. König

The firm's British wholesaler was located at Beer Lane, London E.C.[10] The firm "HC König" is now part of Mozart Distillerie GmbH in Salzburg, Austria, and produces and distributes spirits and liqueurs. Harald König is the Chief Executive and President.[11]

See also

References
  1. Advertising in the Royal Colonial Institute Year Book 1913 Royal Colonial Institute, London, 1913, p. v.
  2. "German Loanwords Related to Foods and Drinks" by Gerhard Becker in Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German, Vol. 25, No. 2, Focus on Diversity (Autumn, 1992), pp. 198-207.
  3. Halley, Ned. (2005). The Wordsworth Dictionary of Drink: An A-Z of Alcoholic Beverages. Wordsworth Editions. p. 627. ISBN 978-1-84022-302-6.
  4. Gin: From Genever to London Dry Nicks Wine Merchants, 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  5. Lea, A.G.H.; Piggott, J.R. (Eds.) (2003). Fermented beverage production. 2nd edition. Kluwer. p. 301. ISBN 978-0-306-47706-5.
  6. Types of Gin: Steinhäger. theginisin.com, 10 January 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  7. Stone Gins Antique Bottles, 27 June 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2014. Archived 2014-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Original Schinkenhäger 0,7 ltr". Getränke und Süßwaren Seidel. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  9. Handy, Moses P. (Ed.) The Official Directory of the World's Columbian Exposition, May 1st to October 30th, 1893. W.B. Conkey, Chicago, 1893, p. 595.
  10. Advertising in the Royal Colonial Institute Year Book 1914 Royal Colonial Institute, London, 1914, p. v.
  11. Company Overview of Mozart Distillerie GmbHBloomberg Businessweek, 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
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