Tangerine from Sicily

Mandarin from Sicily – Faude feine Brände

The Faude feine Brände Mandarin from Sicily is a magnificent mandarin spirit from the in-house distillery on the Kaiserstuhl. Master distiller Florian takes the finest, juicy organic mandarins and crafts a fragrant, delicate composition as a spirit, full of aroma, straight into the glass. Only fully ripe fruit of the best quality is processed into enjoyable spirits at his distillery in Bötzingen, because the experienced distiller is certain: a good distillate begins with a top-quality fruit. It is no coincidence that his spirits have received national and international awards, and the mandarins from Sicily are one of the top sellers in the Faude feine Brände range.

The Faude Mandarin Spirit is not just any spirit, and Florian did not use just any mandarin, but the best: Ciaculli mandarins, organically grown and hand-picked at full ripeness.

The Faude feine Brände Mandarin from Sicily exudes the spirit of Sicily in the glass and is an elegant digestif that has captured the essence of the mandarin: complex fruitiness, fresh with fragrant sweetness and a delicate acidity. What is achieved here is a fruity-fresh gift with a lasting finish for all Sicily friends and Black Forest fans.

Faude Mandarin – Kaiserstuhl Sicily Collaboration

In 2015, during a summer holiday in Sicily, Kaiserstuhl distiller Florian met the passionate farmer Giancarlo. By the very next harvest, Florian was standing among the incredibly fragrant citrus trees on his friend's fruit plantation. These are located at the foot of Mount Etna on fertile volcanic soils, which are farmed organically. Florian got to know the land and the people and fell a little in love with the amazing citrus fruits of the Sicilian. Back home in the Black Forest, he experimented with the fruits he had brought back, first with blood oranges, later also with mandarins, and the result was simply sensational.

Grazie amico mio! Thank you, my friend, exclaims Florian Faude, because the aromatic Ciaculli mandarins from his friend Giancarlo are the perfect fruit for the Faude Mandarin Spirit, which is a true Kaiserstuhl Sicily collaboration. Steeped in high-proof alcohol, the wonderfully intense, essential oils are released from the mandarin peels, captured in this Italian-German friendship.

Spirit instead of Brandy – Florian explains

A spirit made from citrus fruits is not a brandy, but a spirit. "A spirit," Florian explains, "opens up possibilities for the distiller to do familiar things differently and to play with the unfamiliar." Unlike with brandy, Florian uses fruits that cannot be mashed and fermented due to their low sugar content, such as the mandarin from Sicily. "Here we take a piece of nature," Florian continues, "steep it in the purest grain alcohol so that it can release its full aroma into the alcohol, and distill the flirt after a short time. This way, only clear notes enter the distillate. What we save in time, we add in fruit." With the good, soft water of the Black Forest, the spirit is then reduced to drinking strength (42% vol. alcohol) and filled without cold filtration into classic 500ml frosted glass bottles, which are reserved for the four citrus fruit spirits. "The result: a highly harmonious paradox. Intensely fresh, immediately present and yet – complex and light-footed."