Kliesow’s Aquavit
Alt Reddevitz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
- ABV
- 38%
- Base spirit
- Grain (unspecified)
- Color
- Pale Gold
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Aquavit
Kliesow’s Aquavit is a German aquavit based on barrel-aged Kornbrand from Alt Reddevitz on the Mönchgut peninsula of Rügen, produced by the Mönchguter Hofbrennerei “Zur Strandburg”. Bottled at 38% vol., it is described on the label as Spirituose – fassgelagerter Kornbrand mit Kümmel- und Wacholdernote — a barrel-aged Kornbrand with caraway and juniper notes. The exact grain used for the Kornbrand is not stated.
The label explicitly states that its Kornbrand base was matured in cask, although neither the duration nor the type of barrel is given, although the label gives neither the duration nor the type of barrel. The surviving bottle has a light golden colour and carries the wording Deutsches Erzeugnis – Insel Rügen, emphasizing its local production on the island. The distillery is also described on the label as a familiengeführte Verschlussbrennerei.
Kliesow’s Aquavit belongs to the period when the distillery operated under the name Mönchguter Hofbrennerei “Zur Strandburg”. Spirits had been produced at the Strandburg site since 2006, and in 2007 Thomas Kliesow opened the operation as a Verschlussbrennerei. The label on Kliesow’s Aquavit explicitly describes the business as a familiengeführte Verschlussbrennerei, placing this version of the product most plausibly within the 2007–2019 period. The operation later became Störtebeker Brennerei. Today, the same site produces Ebbe & Flut Aquavit, another barrel-aged aquavit at 38% vol. based on Kornbrand and caraway. The close similarities suggest that Ebbe & Flut Aquavit may have developed from or succeeded Kliesow’s Aquavit, although no direct confirmation of a renaming or continuous recipe has been found.
About the producer
Mönchguter Hofbrennerei "Zur Strandburg"
Alt Reddevitz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Mönchguter Hofbrennerei “Zur Strandburg” was a family-run distillery in Alt Reddevitz on the island of Rügen, established by Thomas Kliesow. The distillery occupied the historic Strandburg property, whose history goes back to a hotel opened in 1904 by Captain Karl Kliesow. Johan Kliesow took over the property in 1910; it was later sold, expropriated in 1953 and used for decades as a holiday facility before eventually returning to private ownership. Conversion of the site for a brewery or distillery began in May 2005, and the company records handmade spirit production there from 2006 onward.
The business developed as an actual production distillery rather than simply a spirits retailer. A 2017 account describes Thomas Kliesow operating two stills and a customs-controlled Verschlussbrennerei, with six members of the family involved in crushing, mashing, distilling, maturation, bottling and labelling. At that time the range comprised around twenty products, including fruit brandies, fruit spirits, liqueurs, whisky and aquavit.
In January 2020, the operation began trading as Störtebeker Brennerei. Thomas Kliesow remained closely involved with the distillery and continued as master distiller after the former family business became part of the Störtebeker operation.