Christoph Kössler

The Climb

Christoph Kössler has been the distiller of Brennerei Christoph Kössler since 1995. That length of service points to a practice built on routine, precision, and the steady conversion of fruit and grain into distillates and liqueurs that hold their shape. The work reads as continuity rather than reinvention: a direct inheritance, handled without ornament, where consistency and restraint matter as much as the raw materials themselves.

Today

The distillery remains centered in Stanz bei Landeck, and the house style is defined by clarity of ingredient and clarity of purpose. Kössler states the standard directly: “We stand for the highest and best quality.” He pairs that with another rule just as exact: “We use only natural products.” The language is spare, but the craft position is clear—keep the process clean, keep the materials honest, and let the results speak without noise. That approach is easy to read in Granta Bitter. Kössler describes it without flourish: “This is also evident in our Granta Bitter, which is made only from granten (lingonberries), 24 different herbs and sweet honey.” The formula shows the house method in miniature: a measured build from berry, herb, and honey, each part distinct, none pushed past its role. It is a distillate shaped by balance and control rather than display.

Signature

Christoph's signature wines include Granta Bitter, Apfelbrand Eichenfass Kössler 0,35 l, Birnen-Cuvée Kössler 0,35 l, and barley cigar distillate. Taken together, they sketch the range of Brennerei Christoph Kössler: fruit brandies with wood-aged depth, pear cuvée with its sense of layered orchard character, and the more singular note of barley cigar distillate. Each carries the same underlying discipline, a house signature that values texture, provenance, and a clean finish over excess.

In Their Words “This is also evident in our Granta Bitter, which is made only from granten (lingonberries), 24 different herbs and sweet honey.” “We stand for the highest and best quality.”