100 year old Copper Still returned from retirement

 
The still that started it all nearly 20 years ago is back at work after a 10 year absence at Prenzel.

Allouette as the still is known was found hiding in a French cellar 20 years ago. It was then smuggled into Switzerland and brought to New Zealand to make fruit brandies for what was to become the Prenzel Distilling Company.

Allouette had originally been used in Mulhouse, Alsace where it was taken around villages distilling fruit brandies for the local farmers. Artisinal stills were outlawed in France following WW2 in an attempt to simplify the collection of duties on alcohol. Rather than have her broken into pieces Alouette’s owner, hid her in his cellar to be found by Prenzel 20 years later.

Allouette’s fruit brandies went onto win International awards including a gold medal for Pear William at the prestigious Destillata in Austria in 1992.

After many years of producing International award winning fruit brandies, such as gold for Pear William at the prestigious Destillata of Austria in 1992, Allouette was retired in 1998. Allouette has been on display in the Riverlands Tasting Room until two weeks ago when she was wheeled out and made ready for production once again.

Alouette’s first distillation will be a small batch of Pear William brandy, the product that started it all 20 years ago. Prenzel Distiller Hayden Johnstone says “We believe the brandy Allouette will produce will again be the best on the market.” “The reason for this high quality is because of Allouette size, the smaller the still the higher the quality of the alcohol”  We will have to wait to find out just how good Alouette’s brandy is as “the Pear William Brandy will need to sit for at least two years before we think about bottling it.” Says Hayden.