🥃 Becherovka
Czech bitter herbal drink from Karlovy Vary, 38% ABV; the recipe of Josef Vitus Becher, on sale since 1807, owned by Poland's Maspex since 2024.
Becherovka is a Czech bitter herbal drink from Karlovy Vary at 38% ABV. It is made to a secret recipe from more than twenty herbs and spices, spirit, water and sugar. The first drink was sold in 1807, and since 30 April 2024 the brand and the distillery in Karlovy Vary have belonged to the Polish group Maspex.
The author of the recipe was Josef Vitus Becher of Karlsbad, as Karlovy Vary was then called. According to the brand's history, the physician Christian Frobrig shared with him the recipe of a herbal drink; Becher refined it for two years and began selling it in 1807. The family continued the business: the name of Jan Becher is still in the name of the company Jan Becher – Karlovarská Becherovka. In 2001, during privatisation, the brand was bought by the French Pernod Ricard; in December 2023 it agreed to sell it to Maspex, and the deal was completed in spring 2024.
According to the brand's description, the recipe combines herbs and spices, pure water from the surroundings of Karlovy Vary, quality spirit and sugar. Some of the plants are imported, some grow near the town. Sellers and tour descriptions add details: a mixture of herbs in bags of natural fabric is infused in spirit for about a week, and the finished drink matures in oak casks for about two months. The producer does not disclose the full list of herbs.
Besides Original, the brand makes the unfiltered Unfiltered, the citrus Lemond (20% ABV), KV 14, Cordial and new flavoured versions. A popular mixed drink is the Beton: Becherovka with tonic.
Why this matters to you. Becherovka is 38% ABV, which makes it a strong drink, even though it is often served in a small glass “for digestion”. The sugar in the recipe makes it sweeter than purely bitter bitters. Lemond and other versions have a different strength, so look at the name and the percentage. The WHO reminds us that no level of alcohol consumption is safe.
Facts
| Year founded | 1807, Karlovy Vary (recipe of Josef Vitus Becher) |
|---|---|
| Raw material | more than 20 herbs and spices, spirit, water from the surroundings of Karlovy Vary, sugar |
| Cask type | oak casks (according to sellers' descriptions) |
| Minimum maturation | about 2 months in oak (according to sellers' descriptions) |
| Alcohol (% vol.) | 38% ABV (Original); Lemond: 20% ABV |
How it connects to Spirits
🥃 Becherovka → kind of → 🌿 Bitters and bitter spirits → kind of → 🥃 Spirits
Links
- Packed in
- 🍷 Oak barrel
- What it contains
- 🍬 Sugar, 🍷 Ethanol
- What it affects
- 🍷 Alcohol and health, 🍷 Drunk driving
- Part of
- 🌿 Bitters and bitter spirits
- Related to
- 🌍 Central Europe
- Similar and different
- 🍸 Bitter (bitter-tasting spirit drink), 🍸 Liqueurs, 🥃 Jägermeister
- In other topics
- 🧪 Water
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that Becherovka still belongs to Pernod Ricard?
No. Pernod Ricard owned the brand from 2001, and on 30 April 2024 it was taken over, together with the distillery in Karlovy Vary, by the Polish group Maspex.
What is Becherovka made from?
According to the brand's description, from herbs and spices (more than twenty of them), water from the surroundings of Karlovy Vary, spirit and sugar. The exact recipe is kept secret.
How strong is Becherovka?
Becherovka Original is 38% ABV. The citrus Lemond is weaker, at 20% ABV.
How is Becherovka made?
According to sellers' descriptions, a mixture of herbs in bags is infused in spirit for about a week, water and sugar are added, and then the drink matures in oak casks for about two months.
What is a Beton?
A mixed drink of Becherovka and tonic, usually served with ice and lemon. In Czech the name means “concrete”.
What to read next
- 🍷 Alcohol and health — Alcohol in any drink is harmful in large amounts, and the risks grow with the quantity.
- 🍷 Oak barrel — A wooden barrel of oak staves in which wine matures and breathes.
- 🍷 Ethanol — The alcohol formed during fermentation that makes you drunk.
- 🍸 Liqueurs — Liqueur is a sweetened spirit with herbs, fruit or nuts: from 15% vol., usually at least one hundred grams of sugar per litre.
- 🌍 Central Europe — Curd cheese (quark), cheeses and butter in peasant cooking.
Similar
🥃 Aperol · 🥃 Campari · 🥃 Jägermeister · 🥃 Drambuie · 🥃 Licor 43 · 🥃 Malibu
⚠️ Spirit drinks contain alcohol and are for adults only. Alcohol harms health. Do not drink during pregnancy or before driving; check the label for ingredients and possible allergens.
Sources
- Becherovka: official site (Josef Vitus Becher, Dr. Christian Frobrig, 1807, Karlovy Vary; herbs and spices, water from the Karlovy Vary region, spirit, sugar; product range)
- Radio Prague International: Pernod Ricard selling Becherovka brand to Polish group Maspex (12/2023; Pernod since 2001 privatisation)
- MediaGuru: Becherovka definitivně patří skupině Maspex (completion 30.04.2024; Karlovy Vary plant)
- Expats.cz: Iconic Czech spirit Becherovka will get a Polish owner
- Kifli.hu: Becherovka herbal liqueur 38 % (herb mixture in natural-fibre sacks steeped in alcohol about a week; ~2 months in oak barrels)
- Wikipedia: Becherovka (Josef Vitus Becher 1769–1840; Frobrig 1805; 1807; Jan Becher 1838; 38 %; more than twenty herbs and spices; Lemond 2008, 20 %; Beton = Becherovka + tonic) — допоміжне
- Regulation (EU) 2019/787 on spirit drinks (OJ L 130, 17.5.2019), Art. 2 and Annex I
- WHO/Europe: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (04.01.2023)