Grafschafter Herbal Juniper

Grafschafter Kräuterwacholder comes from our home region

The Grafschafter Kräuterwacholder from Sasse is a juniper liqueur with 32% ABV, whose berries are hand-picked in the juniper heaths of the County of Bentheim. Mild, spicy, with notes of heather honey – and with every glass, money goes toward preserving this landscape.

Grafschafter Kräuterwacholder is a juniper liqueur from the Sasse fine distillery made from juniper berries, wheat, spring water, and herbs—all from the County of Bentheim—bottled at 32% ABV in a 700-milliliter bottle. For us in Nordhorn, this is not just a product from somewhere: the berries grow a few kilometers from our doorstep.

It appears light golden in the glass, and the scent leads straight to the heath: herbs, resinous juniper, and a subtle almond note behind it. Anyone familiar with the Tillenberge in late summer will recognize the smell immediately.

Herbs, juniper, and warm notes of heather honey

On the palate, the Grafschafter Kräuterwacholder shows a mild, light fullness of flavor with spicy, sweet aromas, underscored by warm heather honey tones.

It goes down mild, spicy, and round—surprisingly smooth for 32% ABV, because here the herbs take precedence over the bite. The almond note in the finish is a surprise that no one expects.

For this, the juniper berries are first macerated, the macerate is distilled, and then refined with herbs—a three-step detour that you can taste. The reason juniper can become this mild is due to this order: first, the berry extracts cold, then it is distilled, and the herbs are added last, when nothing can cook them to destruction.

With kale, after dinner, while looking out over the heath

Grafschafter Kräuterwacholder is drunk neat, lightly chilled—as a digestif after a hearty meal, it is in its element.

After kale with "Pinkel" sausage or after County Bentheim farmhouse ham, the juniper cleanses where there was something hearty. That is exactly what juniper has always been used for here, long before anyone called it gin. A small glass, not ice-cold, allows the herbs to come into their own.

If you prefer juniper as gin, you can find it in the Grafschafter Heide Gin made from the same berries; if you are looking for Westphalian herbal liqueur, try the Sechser Kräuterlikör. Both are part of the Grafschafter line from Sasse.

The Nordhorn Zoo picks the berries

The juniper berries come from the Tillenberge and Spöllberg nature reserves and are harvested by hand there every autumn by the Nordhorn Zoo.

"Enjoyment for nature conservation" is what the zoo and the distillery call their cooperation, and that is meant literally. The Blekker curative education farm helps with the harvest—people with and without disabilities work side by side. For picking to even be possible, the heath must remain open: this is taken care of by Bentheim Land sheep, a breed that was itself almost extinct a few years ago. No sheep, no heath; no heath, no berries.

The Tillenberge is an inland dune landscape of around 96 hectares, protected since 1996 and crisscrossed by juniper heath—a remnant of the landscape that defined everyday life here for centuries. Someone is actively keeping what stands in the nature reserve today open: with sheep, with work, with money.

And it is measurable: from the sales proceeds of the Grafschafter Kräuterwacholder, Sasse feeds a specially founded special fund at the County of Bentheim Nature Conservation Foundation—over 40,000 euros have already been raised this way. It was first distilled in 2010 for the district's anniversary, and the distillery has been involved in nature conservation here ever since. We like that a company that has been operating in Schöppingen since 1707 and is now managed by Rüdiger Sasse in the 15th generation cares for a heath in the county. And we, the people of Nordhorn, like it especially.

Half-hour chilled, not ice-cold

Place the bottle in the cold half an hour before the meal, then it is just right—ice-cold, the herbs and honey notes close up. A small glass after kale, after game, or simply by the fireplace. Once opened, it will keep for many months if stored in the dark. The next time you take a walk on the Tillenberge, you will know what this is talking about.