In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, spirits inventors Jochen Zeyher and Thomas Kurzenberger from the Glockenbachviertel are expanding with their gin “MUNiG”. Now the Munich start-up has won a prestigious prize.
Munich – encouragers are welcome in the omnipresent coronavirus pandemic *. Gastronomy, hotels, showmen – the regional economy is groaning in and around Munich. But there are, the other examples. Success stories in adverse times that show that even under these circumstances, new opportunities open up. This is what happened in the middle of the Glockenbachviertel.
Gin from Munich: Start-up achieves breakthrough despite corona pandemic
Here is the “MUNiG” at home, Munich*’s new insider tip among gins. A few months before the pandemic paralyzed everything, Jochen Zeyher and Thomas Kurzenberger, both in their late thirties, launched their idea: a gin in which everything from the water, to the botanicals and the tropical fruits, comes from Munich* or is grown here.
“I received a 2-liter still from my girlfriend for Christmas 2018. Nine months later, just in time for the 2019 Wiesn tapping, we had filled the first bottles. At home, Thomas and I developed 50 recipes late into the night and then decided on the one that we were most convinced of,” says Zeyher in an interview with Munich newspaper tz : “The tapping at the Oktoberfest* was for us the time to go to a big facility.”
Gin from Munich: It all started in the Glockenbach district in the Isar suburb
Back then, no one could have guessed that the starting signal would be fired at the last Wiesn. In the Glockenbachviertel, however, work continued (in compliance with the Corona rules) – even during the almost endless lockdowns. If necessary, by means of video chat tasting. The two-liter plant? Was way too small.
Zeyher and Kurzenberger got to know a spirits specialist based between Irschenberg and Bad Aibling near Rosenheim – including the necessary production capacities. A hobby had meanwhile turned into selling thousands of bottles a year. Even local restrictions in the corona pandemic * did not stop their wealth of inventors. Rosemary, blueberries and lemon balm – they grow botanicals such as herbs and juniper on the roof garden of a downtown Munich hotel in Ludwigsvorstadt.
With a spade and garden hoe in the bed? This is familiar to friends who have known each other since they were three years old. “My parents used to have a vineyard in the Swabian Remstal,” says Zeyher: “If necessary, my mother would throw me out of bed if I was out with friends the night before. Then we went to the vineyard or to the fields.” Among the friends was mostly Kurzenberger, who was allowed (had) to go to the vineyard without further ado.
MUNiG & Co.: These gin brands come from Munich (examples)
Incidentally, gin brands from Upper Bavaria are trendy. In Munich and the surrounding area alone there are now a large number of brands. Here is a small, albeit incomplete, overview so that you can keep up with the next gin conversation:
- MUNiG (Munich Premium Gin, Glockenbachviertel)
- THE DUKE (Munich Dry Gin, Aschheim)
- MONACO GIN (Franz Münchinger, old town)
- Ginmacher (Munich Dry Gin, Fürstenried)
- Bavaricus (Munich Dry Gin, Fürstenried)
- feel! (Munich Dry Gin, Pasing)
- ELF 58 Gin (Original Munich Gin, Schwabing)
- Josef 1928 Bavarian Gin (Lantenhammer, Hausham/Schliersee)
- Gin Lago (Tegernseer Spirituosen Manufaktur GmbH, Tegernsee)
Instead of wine, it should now be gin. They order the basis, the citrus fruits, at five in the morning at the weekend in the Sendlinger Großmarkthalle. “When I drive there at four in the morning, the city is still asleep. everything is dark But in the wholesale market hall life is raging at the same time, it’s like being in another world there,” says Zeyher in an interview with tz* and smiles: “The forklifts come rattling towards you. People cavort between the shelves and displays. The shirt-sleeves, the atmosphere, the smell of fresh fruit – that’s nice.” The gin manufacturers (everything is made by hand) are also very well known on the Viktualienmarkt. A special edition matured here in a sherry cask – right in the middle of the busy market.
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Their gin has long since made a name for itself beyond Munich. Here, where there are now several applicants between Schwabing*, the university quarter in Maxvorstadt* and the hipster bars in the Glockenbachviertel. Specifically: With their “MUNiG” Zeyher and Kurzenberger recently won the German nations ranking of the “Gin World Awards 2022”. They prevail against a number of competitors between the North Sea and Bavaria. Now the next step for the Munich gin is global competition.
Gin from Munich: It is distilled in the foothills of the Alps between Irschenberg and Bad Aibling
Meanwhile, the burning continues between Irschenberg and Bad Aibling. “The ingredients are placed in the still for 24 to 48 hours. Only then is it distilled,” explains Zeyher and says with a laugh: “Then you are the “qualifier” and taste the quality of the gin. It’s an emotional feeling.” And that in the middle of the corona pandemic, which is forgotten for a short time between gardening, the wholesale market hall on the Isar and the boiler in the foothills of the Alps. (pm) * tz.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
