The beginnings of Jan Becher - Karlovarsk Becherovka, a.s.

reach back almost two hundred years to the first decade of the nineteenth century. In 1807, Josef Becher, a pharmacist from Karlovy Vary, started selling bitters made according to his own original recipe. In 1841, over three decades later, Josef Becher passed on his budding business to his son and heir Johann. Johann started large-scale production, and accordingly it is his name associated with Becherovka right up to the present day. Over the next hundred years (until 1945) company management was passed down the generations of the Becher family. After the war the company was nationalized, and control of the company transferred to a board of management appointed by the state. In 1999, the original Becherovka from Karlovy Vary teamed up again with its estranged cousin that had enjoyed an independent existence in Germany since the end of the Second World War. Today Jan Becher has over 300 employees, joined in anticipation of the prosperous future of Becherovka - an original taste from the heart of Europe.

Chance seems to stand at the head of many a great historical event. One such piece of luck brought the Imperial Count Plettenberg-Mietingen on a visit to Karlovy Vary in 1805, bringing with him an eccentric English doctor by the name of Frobrig. It must have been coincidence that the count and his personal physician Frobrig put up at the House of the Three Skylarks, which, by another piece of fortune, belonged to our Josef Becher, Karlovy-Vary pharmacist. There was an inkling of something truly inspired in Frobrig's blend of herbs and alcohol, and over the next two years Josef Becher went on to spend all his spare moments experimenting with the secret recipe. Then, in 1807, Josef Becher started selling cordial drops at his pharmacy according to his own recipe. Initially, his liqueur bore the names Carlsbad English Bitter, Carlsbad Bitter, English Bitter, and even the German name Original Karlsbader Becherbitter. In short, Karlovy Vary Becherovka had seen the light of the world.

Josef Becher was in charge of the budding enterprise until 1841, when he handed the reins of the family business over to his son Johann. Johann Becher excelled in his protection of the recipe, proving himself to be a very able businessman. He replaced the outdated machinery with modern equipment and built a new plant. It was under Johann's management that Becherovka began to be sold in its typical flat bottles. Johann was followed by his son Gustav, who registered the Becherovka trademark at the Chamber of Commerce in Cheb, naming it after his father, whose name has been borne by the company ever since. The reason behind this move was to try and stop imitations of the superb liqueur. Gustav was also the inspiration behind the production of small porcelain cups still bought by Becherovka lovers today. He implemented a new, ingenious, business strategy too: customers were always given less Becherovka than they had ordered, which made the market highly strung with demand greater than supply. In 1901, Gustav's brother Rudolf acceded to the throne of the liqueur realm, and remained at the head of the company until the First World War, vigorously spreading its fame beyond the borders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Under Rudolf's management, Becherovka reached into France, Italy, Spain, and even distant Egypt. Company branches mushroomed in Paris, Vienna, and many other cities. At the turn of the century, the company started picking up numerous prizes and medals; Becherovka reigned supreme at the World Exhibitions in Paris, Vienna, and countless other cities. In 1915 Alfred Becher took control of the company. The herbal liqueur coped well with the First World War - indeed, supplies to the army made it all the more popular. Alfred's dream was to reinforce Becherovka's status abroad, especially when Czechoslovakia found itself gripped by the economic crisis of the nineteen-thirties. His efforts paid off when

the liqueur entered the market in the United States of America, but the Prohibition just three years later put a stop to this conquest. Nevertheless, several years later (in 1938), Becherovka reached the shores of England, the homeland of one of its founding fathers. By the outbreak of the Second World War, then, Becherovka had had its fair share of ups and downs. Once the Austrian Emperor tried some of the Karlovy Vary liqueur, the Imperial Court started consuming sixty litres of the stuff every month, earning the producers of the popular tipple the prestigious status of 'Supplier to the Imperial Court'.

Today in some countries producers of alcoholic beverages are not permitted to claim health-giving effects for their products. Nor of course do we. But we are happy to cite the opinions of medical experts through the years. Doctors have never doubted the curative properties of Becherovka. After all, we know that Josef Becher originally sold Becherovka in his pharmacy as cordial drops. We take pleasure in being able to quote the opinions of medical specialists that have been remarked over the years. Before the First World War, Dr August Schaller, from Karlovy Vary, declared that Becherovka was 'one of the most expedient medicaments for such cases of gastric complaints whereby the use of alcohol as a cure might be considered. This is so because it causes the gastric juices to be secreted, enhancing the flavour and encouraging digestion.' Schaller's local colleague, Carl Nagel, and another physician, Emanuel Hirsch, went on to add, 'Regular doses of Becherovka have an excellent effect on the indisposition of the digestive organs and eliminate all accompanying symptoms.' And an extensive appraisal by Dr Vilem epka, based on the latest scientific knowledge and research, is evidence of his former colleagues words: ' ... Becherovka contains the extracts of many species of medicinal plants. The individual extracts include agents inducing increased secretion of the gastric juices, increased secretion of bile, and spasmolytic agents relaxing the abnormal contractions of the smooth muscles of the digestive organs. The said influences on the activity of the stomach lead to better digestion of food and to faster evacuation of the stomach. The sedative effect on the nervous system prevents the intrusive effects of stress that play a part in the inception of diseases of the digestive organs. Healing processes also accelerate considerably via the activation of unspecific defences. There are no known cases of abuse or ethylism arising after consumption of Becherovka. There can be no doubting Becherovka's beneficial effect on the workings of the digestive organs in cases of functional disorders.' We might just make the addition to these medical opinions that there is no known case of a moderate consumer of Becherovka damaging his or her health with this fragrant liqueur. Indeed, there are many people who enjoy this delicious drink in moderation who claim that it does them good.

Josef Becher used the alchemist's art in producing his medicinal liqueur, weighing the ingredients separately on the pharmacy scales, and mixing the blends in wrought dishes. Production today has not entirely lost the charm of something mysterious and magical, especially as the recipe for the herbal blend is known to just two people in the whole world! Weighing and mixing the herbs takes places today on modern lab equipment, although the ingredients are exactly the same as those used almost two hundred years ago. A huge iron door labelled 'Drug Chamber' opens and closes once a week, and one of the two 'chosen' experts familiar with the recipe prepares a blend made up of herbs and spices. We shall reveal no more. Except that around three quarters of these ingredients come from foreign climes (although, on the other hand, three plants can only be found in the vicinity of Karlovy Vary). The blended fragrant miracle is then put into sacks made from natural materials, which are submerged into a tank full of alcohol for a week until fully soaked. The extract is then put into oak vats, where it is mixed with water and natural sugar. The aromatic elixir matures in the oak vats for two or three months, before the individual batches are mixed in with each other to ensure the drink has a balanced, consistent taste. Then, finished, the liqueur makes its way

to the bottling room, where the famous flat bottles are filled. Becherovka is now ready to be presented to its consumers. Karlovy Vary itself is said to give the taste of Becherovka a certain magic. Several years ago they performed an experiment. Herb extracts produced at the plant in Karlovy Vary were transferred to another site, where the drink was made in exactly the same way. And the result? Anything but Becherovka! There is certainly much of the unknown here that will remain secret, even to the custodians of the recipe. It might be the water in Karlovy Vary, a special temperature, or the old wood of the oak vats. In fact, it might even be something that cannot be weighed or measured.

It's no news for Becherovka drinkers, that this popular classic among Czech spirits is a 100% natural product with absolutely no chemical preservatives, artificial flavour, no "E's". It's just Carlsbad water, high quality alcohol, natural sugar and a very special and harmonic mixture of herbs and spices - that's all Becherovka is made of. Take a look at the small print on some other brands of liqueur and compare. It is very important to understand this obvious truth, for it means, that no bottle of Becherovka can ever be precisely the same as another one. Of course, Becherovka bottled on the very same day is very much the same, but it can slightly vary from one day to another, not to speak of weeks, months or even years. The production process of Becherovka as well as the recipe of this drink hasn't changed for almost 200 years, it only became more modern as the company's always been using the best available technology of the time. But the fact, that Becherovka is a natural living product makes slight changes in colour, taste and aroma inevitable. Starting with the herbs and spices which come from all over the world - heavy rains or dry periods, different soil, time of the harvest - many aspects cause ups and downs in the strength and flavour of the herbs and spices used. Of course we use renowned suppliers of herbs and spices who guarantee us the highest quality standards - and whilst the quality stays the same, the taste may slightly vary. With all the many herbs and spices in Becherovka imagine the potential of variation!. It's not just the ingredients that are responsible for the final look, taste and aroma of Becherovka. An important role in the production process plays the maturing of the drink in oak barrels. And we have many of them - small, dark ones from the beginning of this century as well as huge, light-brown ones from just a few years ago. Before the final filtration and before bottling Becherovka spends some weeks in those barrels to settle down a bit, to ripe and to mellow. During these weeks in the barrels, but later on in the bottles as well, Becherovka slightly and slowly changes. It becomes darker, the taste becomes rounder. It is no secret, Becherovka lovers who had the chance to drink a shot from an older bottle know it just like the PJI (esk potravinsk jakostn inspekce) knows it, which confirms, that this process is absolutely natural and normal. Despite the fact, that Becherovka is a living product, its is always extraordinary and very resilient. If some consumer ever finds a Becherovka bottle from the end of last century, buried in his garden, the drink would still be Becherovka - some unmistakeable notes would still be present in this most excellent spirit. We have to admit, that discovering an old, or a very old Becherovka bottle in the back-yard or among old junk in the loft is a very rare event. The consumption of Becherovka takes normally place soon after it was bought and that's why older bottles are very sought after. The connoisseurs of Becherovka argue whether the time in the bottles makes the taste of this herb come out more or whether the taste of that one goes down with time - as the Becherovka recipe is secret we won't tell you, whether we use these herbs at all or not, but both professional and - more frequently - less formal disputes about taste and ingredients of Becherovka haven't ever stop and never ever will.

'Would you like an aperitif? Perhaps a digestive? Or a cocktail?' the waiters and bartenders ask, and you know you will always hit the right note if you say just one word - Becherovka. Czechs might be racking their brains at this point to see if they remember any cocktails other than 'Beton' ('Concrete', or a mix of Becherovka and tonic). By the way, did you really think Beton was just Becherovka and tonic?

AND MORE SUGGESTIONS TO FEED YOUR CREATIVITY... There are many more ways of drinking Becherovka. Let's say you have just come in from the cold and you want something to warm you up. Hot drinks can also be conjured up from Becherovka, by mixing it with hot chocolate, for example ...