Silberlöwe Aquavit
Raisdorf, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
- ABV
- 45%
- Base spirit
- Unknown
- Color
- Clear
- Style
- Unaged Aquavit
Silberlöwe Aquavit was a German aquavit produced by Fritz Lehment. The blue maritime label used on the surviving bottles carries the name Silberlöwe, the description “Aquavit nach altem Rezept” (“aquavit according to an old recipe”), and the producer name Fritz Lehment · Kiel. The label shows sailing ships around a shield with a lion. The documented miniature is marked 45% vol. / 90 proof, and the spirit itself is clear and colorless. Both a full-size bottle and a miniature are documented with essentially the same label design; the larger bottle also carries an Aquavit neck label.
Silberlöwe is securely documented by 1969. An August 28, 1969 issue of Opera Mundi – Europe described Fritz Lehment as a West German distillery and listed Silberlöwe specifically as an aquavit, alongside Schwarzer Kater liqueurs and Polar Rum among the company’s principal trademarks. On September 9, 1969, SILBERLOWE was filed as a trademark in Denmark by Fritz Lehment GmbH Spirituosenwerk of Kiel-Raisdorf for wines, spirits and liqueurs.
The product continued to be actively marketed in 1970. A German advertising-industry report dated June 6, 1970 refers explicitly to “Aquavit Silberlöwe” as one of the Lehment brands already handled by the Hartenfels advertising agency.
(The image of the 700 ml bottle shown in this post is a digital reconstruction based on available low-resolution photographs of surviving bottles, including examples with heavily damaged labels.)
Bottle gallery
About the producer
Fritz Lehment
Raisdorf, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Fritz Lehment GmbH Spirituosenwerk
was a spirits manufacturer based in the Kiel area of Schleswig-Holstein. The company itself used 1868 as its founding date: the date appears on historical Lehment labels, and a photograph taken in Kiel in 1971 shows company signage reading “100 Jahre Lehment, gegr. 1868.” Kiel municipal records document a spirit store operated by Fritz Lehment by 1871; records from 1889–1890 concern the installation of a steam boiler at the business, and records from 1891–1895 identify Fritz Lehment as a distiller selling bottled spirits.
The company expanded from its Kiel operations to a substantial spirits works in nearby Raisdorf. Kiel City Archive photographs document the inauguration of the Fritz Lehment plant at Klausdorfer Straße 28–32 on November 24, 1966, with Friedrich Lehment showing guests through the facility. Contemporary trademark records subsequently identify the company as Fritz Lehment GmbH Spirituosenwerk, Kiel-Raisdorf. Raisdorf has been part of the city of Schwentinental since its 2008 merger with Klausdorf.
In 1968, the Canadian drinks group Seagram acquired a minority stake in Fritz Lehment. A year later, Seagram increased its holding to 100% and became the sole owner of the company. Joachim Lehment remained in management, while Friedrich Lehment moved to another Seagram operation. At the time of the takeover, Silberlöwe Aquavit was listed among Fritz Lehment’s principal brands.