The year is 2013. My friend Benedikt is visiting from Vienna (at the time I was living in Berlin myself) and proudly presents me with one of the small green bottles, gently stored in a suitable wooden box.
40 ml of this luxury distillate. A ginger distillate, if I remember correctly.
With shining eyes, he told me it was probably the best burner in the world. He was practically miffed when I didn't reciprocate his enthusiasm. I was rather puzzled by the contents. I don't understand it.
Although fruit brandies were my entry into the world of distillates in 2005 (I was 15 years old at the time and taught myself distillation using specialist books), I only really delved into the subject in 2018 when I met my Austrian wife Valerie and moved to Austria – the best country in the world for distilled fruit.
Fun fact: I met Valerie at the wedding of my friend Benedikt mentioned above, through whom I also became acquainted with Rochelt's brandies. 
Enthralled by the incredible quality of fruit brandies this country has to offer, I'm delving deeper and deeper into the subject. Theo from the Freimeisterkollektiv helps me find the best distillers, which also leads to visits to places like Hiebl and Farthofer .
I communicate a lot with the outside world, share my experiences, and even bottle my first pear brandy with Hiebl under my The Spirit Traveller line .
My viewers' curiosity about the topic is aroused, and the community itself shares many experiences and impressions – a nice advantage of our Facebook group, the Wagemut Taste Academy .
It is striking to observe that Rochelt is by far the most mentioned Brenner, not only in the group but also in my YouTube videos.
Many connoisseurs swear by his work – including people whose opinions I greatly value.
These frequent mentions make me suspicious – after all, their impressions don't match mine.
I don't understand so much of what Rochelt does – in fact, things often simply contradict my understanding of the subject matter.
I'm proud of the work we've achieved with our YouTube channel. With more than 3 million views per month, we've become the leading opinion leader on spirits in German-speaking countries.
With increasing reach comes increased responsibility. Even though I still speak very openly today, I am more cautious with judgments. I have developed an awareness of how much harm or benefit I can achieve through my spoken words.
It was precisely this awareness that led to the development of a new approach:
In the past, I would have simply made a video about Rochelt and explained that I didn't like the following things and that I saw certain things differently.
I have now decided to act more like a traditional journalist:
A report where I present the different sides and let the connoisseur decide for themselves.
So instead of recording a video about Rochelt, I contacted the owner, Mr. Alexander Rainer, and asked for a meeting.
Here is a screenshot of my email from August 26, 2025: 
Thanks to the prompting from my colleagues at Zucker & Zelte, I subsequently realized that my request was not exactly the most polite way to go about things and that this is not how you build bridges.
"What a load of crap," I thought to myself. "I could have done better than that."
I was all the more surprised when I received a reply: 
Wow! Now that's someone confident! After all, he doesn't need to expose himself to my criticism.
On January 22, 2026, it finally worked out: Together with Valerie and our son Leon, we were on the mat at Rochelt in beautiful Tyrol near Innsbruck at exactly 10 a.m.
I had no idea what to expect. How would I be received? Would there be a certain tension in the air because of my critical email?
Nothing doing.
We enter the beautiful and well-maintained house. Mr. Rainer greets us very personally in the kitchen and offers us coffee – there is no sign of tension.
There's a kind of calm that only a well-managed company can achieve. Everyone is awake, but so relaxed.
Mr. Rainer himself comes across as a calm and charismatic person.
Besides spirits, people and their behavior are a passion of mine, and meeting a person who is as much at peace with himself as Mr. Rainer is rare.
After a brief introduction, we will begin the tour.
Everything is shown to us in detail. What is particularly positive is:
There are no closed doors. Everything is open.
There is nothing that is withheld from us.
That's always a very good sign, when someone has absolutely nothing to hide.
With an unhurried passion, Mr. Rainer conveys the company's values to us while showing us the entire production process – even while distillation is taking place.
We filmed everything and uploaded a video to YouTube. 
Of particular note is the attic, where 80,000 liters of distillate are allowed to mature. Arguably one of the most beautiful sights in the world of spirits. 
The tour provided a good basis for our subsequent interview, where I wanted to get to the bottom of my questions.
The atmosphere was very harmonious and Mr. Rainer remained completely calm – but see for yourself: LINK
I already mentioned a conclusion in the video. However, now that I've had time to let everything sink in, I'd like to add to my conclusion:
Rochelt has created his own unique world.
Not only is the bottle unique, but the spirits also speak their own language.
Even after this wonderful experience, my criticisms remain:
I find the alcohol content somewhat too high in some cases, I don't think the method (open glass balloon) and the extremely long maturation period (10-15 years) make sense, the distillation method is too rustic, and I have absolutely no idea how to explain to you why you should spend so much money on a fruit brandy.
And yet, I feel it completely. Rochelt has totally captivated me. I've even bought several bottles myself.
Their dedication has completely convinced me. Even if I don't agree with every step, everything is done with an uncompromising commitment to quality.
I have never before experienced a company that goes to such lengths. The way they source their raw materials and the respect they show for the farmers has truly inspired me. Their humility before nature touches me every time.
Rochelt are idealists who unwaveringly set their own standards and receive international recognition for it.
I was once again convinced of how this uncompromising nature leads to people being completely at peace with themselves.
Thank you for this reminder. Thank you for this inspiration.
