🥃 Fruit marc spirit

Fruit marc spirit is a strong spirit in EU category 7 of the rules for spirit drinks: it is obtained by fermenting and distilling the pomace of any fruit except grapes. Its strength is at least 37.5% ABV. Adding alcohol and flavouring is forbidden, and among additives only caramel is allowed, to even out the colour.

The border with other categories. Grape marc spirit, such as grappa, marc or orujo, belongs to a separate category 6. Fruit spirit in category 9 is made from fermented whole fruit or its juice, not from what is left after pressing. So the pomace of apples, pears or stone fruit falls under category 7.

Requirements. It is distilled to a strength below 86% ABV; redistillation to the same strength is allowed. It must contain at least 200 g of volatile aromatic substances per hectolitre of pure alcohol and no more than 1,500 g of methanol. For stone-fruit pomace, hydrocyanic acid up to 7 g per hectolitre of pure alcohol is allowed.

The name on the label. If the raw material is one kind of fruit, the name is the fruit’s name followed by “marc spirit”; if the pomace of several fruits is mixed, “fruit marc spirit” is used. In German the category is called Obsttresterbrand, and for a single fruit the fruit’s name is placed before “-tresterbrand”.

Why this matters to you. The limits for methanol and hydrocyanic acid exist because pomace from skins and stones gives off more unwanted substances than clean juice does. So home distillates without control are a real risk. This is a strong spirit of at least 37.5% ABV. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.