On November 28, 2020, "Macardo Swiss Distillery GmbH" officially opens its striking new building on the Thurgauer Seerücken in Strohwilen. Within five years, the formerly small distillery has developed into a new star in the Swiss spirits sky. The "Macardo World" includes not only a distillery, but also an innovative barrel storage facility, a bed & breakfast, an event location, a bar with cigar lounge, and a walk-in store. The median event in mid-November was attended by architect Florian Öttl, Augustin Mettler, president of "Die Schweizer Brenner," Rolf Müller, managing director of Thurgau Tourism, and the president of the cantonal government of Thurgau, Walter Schönholzer. "It is a construction project for several million francs, as Strohwilen has never seen before", Schönholzer said in his introduction and thanked the owner couple Martina and Andreas Bössow for their work and investments.

From Dubai to Strohwilen

Andreas Bössow from Graubünden, who lived with his family in Dubai for many years and ran a successful trading company there, has always been a passionate distiller at heart. His wife Martina reveals, "There have always been reference books on distilling on his bedside table." Since it is still not possible to learn the distiller's craft professionally in Switzerland, the self-taught distiller regularly attended courses in Germany, Austria and Italy. Five years ago, Bössows were informed by a friend that a small distillery was for sale in Strohwilen, Thurgau, housed in an old cheese dairy. And after just 30 days, the namesakes and founders of Macardo, Marco Frauchiger and Bernardo Lamberti, and the Bössows were in agreement on the deal. "It was a gut decision. We didn't define the strategy until later," says the couple. But it was already clear at that point: "Sooner or later, we would need more space".

The trio is complete

The entrepreneurial couple found an important piece of the puzzle for their project in Dubai: the multiple award-winning master distiller from the Bregenzerwald, Bartholomäus Fink. Since the beginning, he has been at the distillery's pot still, impressing not only whiskey, rum, and gin lovers with his creations, but also the expert juries of renowned competitions, such as those of the IWSC in London, the CWSA in China, and the Edelbrandprämierung Ostschweizer. "We could never have done it without him," the couple knows. The distillery is fired with wood from the region and is home to two stills. If necessary, a solar system supports the distillation process. In addition, production is adjusted to the current weather conditions: The mashes are boiled up, for example, when the solar plant provides plenty of power. The waste heat from the distillery is fed to the geothermal probe heat pump. While the latest technology is represented in the new building, the Bössows rely on good old-fashioned manual labor for mashing, fermenting and distilling.

Single barrel suspension on steel beams

Bössow developed the drum storage system together with the Technical University of Winterthur. Each barrel is stored on a steel beam and each beam is equipped with a force measuring system. With the fully automated barrel storage system, the distillery determines data on barrel content, temperature and humidity, which are transmitted to a central computer via Bluetooth. The measurement data shows the cellar master whether the barrels are tight and how much distillate evaporates per barrel. As a rule, the evaporation loss, which the experts call "Angels' Share," is about 2% per year in wooden barrel aging. Temperature and humidity are fully automatically controlled and constantly monitored. This data can also be used to record the "Devil's Cut", the counterpart to the "Angels' Share". The "Devil's Cut" is the amount of distillate that remains in the walls of a wooden barrel when it is emptied. However, this can be used for finishing the next spirit maturing in the barrel. The selected barrels have previously held sherry, port, whiskey or wine and come from America, Scotland, Portugal, Cyprus and other countries of origin.

Energy and sustainability concept

The energy and sustainability concept is emphasized throughout the new building. In particular, the distillery uses firewood, solar energy, geothermal energy, water from its own source and regional ingredients. "No log, water or raw material is wasted," says Andreas Bössow. Biogas is even produced from the distillery waste, and the excess water returns to nature at a nearby farm via irrigation of the fields or watering of the animals. A closed cycle.

Off the beaten track and yet on the nerve of the times

The concept of the Macardo World seems well thought-out and convincing. Nevertheless, Strohwilen is not exactly on the way. One almost expects the proverbial fox and hare to say good night to each other. But perhaps this is exactly what strikes a chord. After all, the credo of the confident Bössow is: "Arrive, feel good and enjoy." Not only business travelers and tourists should arrive here, but also the locals. Friends of spirits and distillates, who will now probably be drawn to Strohwilen from time to time, will have their money's worth.

Author: Andrea Caretta

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