Austrian Whisky Association Founded AWA starts off

Ernie – Ernst J. Scheiner, The Gateway to Distilleries at www.whisky-distilleries.net

Distilling fruit and wine has a very long tradition in Austria. There are hundreds of farm and micro distillieries all over the country.

Whisky distilling is also very popular in Austria. Since 1995 when the first Austrian Distillery J. Haider started producing whisky in the region of Waldviertel – 110km west of Vienna – Austrian whisky distilleries have grown in numbers. More than 78.000 visitors were interested in whisky distillation at Haider’s Whisky Experience in 2011 where about 70.000 litres of whisky mature in warehouses. Johann Haider’s vision turned into a success story. Others followed.

(See: http://angelswhiskyclub.com/awc/Roggenhof.asp)

No wonder, about twenty Austrian micro distilleries produce whisky today. Seventeen years after Johann Haider’s first steps most of his fellow distillers joined together to form an Association of Austrian Whisky Producers which is officially named AUSTRIAN WHISKY ASSOCIATION (AWA).

AWA’s objectives are the promotion of Austrian Whisky in Austria and internationally, the represention of the distillers’ interests and activities. Their prime motivation of safeguarding high quality standards of their products united the whisky distillers.

They fully agreed that Austrian Whisky should be produced only according to the Regulations of the European Union. (See REGULATION (EC) No 110/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 January 2008 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89;
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:039:0016:0054:EN:PDF)

Some of the AWA’s ideas to implement further measures of quality control were also taken from The Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009. They adapted some terminolgy and regulations of “Blended Whisky, Single Malt, Single Grain, Blended Malt and Blended Grain.” (See: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/2890/made)

The members of the Austrian Whisky Association guarantee that

• the distillery is in Austria
• the malted grain may be bought from commercial malsters according to legal regulations
• the whisky is distilled in Austria
• the minimum maturation period is for three years
• their spirit filled into a cask matured in Austria only
• flavouring additives are not added except they are resulting from cask maturation
• the production and reducing water is Austrian and observes the specific national drinking water legislation
• the lowest alcohol bottling strength is 40% a.b.v.

The elected chairwoman Jasmin Haider, who is the driving force behind Austria’s new whisky quality management, said : „From now on we’ll be able shape the future of Austrian Whisky positively. Our whiskies will be promoted at home and internationally. Austrian whiskies will certainly gain a wider recognition as they are based on high standards of production and quality.“

Contact: 

Austrian Whisky Association  

Bundesinnung der Lebensmittelgewerbe

Wiedner Hauptstrasse 63

A-1040 Wien

E-mail          office@austrian-whisky.at

Web              www.austrian-whisky.at