Wilhelm Büchter GmbH & Co. KG

Wilhelm Büchter GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned Korn distillery in Castrop-Rauxel, North Rhine-Westphalia, whose history began in 1880. That year, farmer August Büchter acquired distilling rights for his farm and began using his own wheat to produce Korn, assisted by his wife Emma, who came from an established Westphalian distilling family. Growing demand led to the construction of a larger distillery on the property in 1908.

August’s son Wilhelm Büchter took over the business in 1912, and the company still bears his name. Production was halted during the First World War and was again severely restricted during the Second World War, but the distillery repeatedly recovered and modernized its operations. In 1938, August Büchter’s granddaughter Liselotte Linnigmann assumed management; under her direction the business expanded its bottled-spirit trade, and fully automated filling equipment was introduced in 1964.

The distillery remains in family hands. Peter Hüttner, a great-grandson of the founder, joined the business in 1978 and today continues the company together with his son Marcus Hüttner, representing the fourth and fifth generations. Wilhelm Büchter also operates as a contract producer and bottler, handling formats from small miniatures to large bottles alongside its own range of Korn, aquavit, liqueurs and other spirits.