🍓 Geist

Geist is a spirit drink made by macerating unfermented fruit, berries, vegetables, nuts, herbs, rose petals or mushrooms in ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin and then distilling them. In the EU it is category 17: at least 37.5% vol., with no flavourings and no colourings. The name of the raw material is added, as in Himbeergeist, raspberry geist.

The key difference from fruit spirit (category 9) is that the raw material does not ferment; it gives its aroma to ready-made alcohol during maceration. Distillation stays below 86% vol. Fruit and berries come from the category 16 list, which includes raspberries, blackberries, bilberries, sea buckthorn, rowanberries, elderberries, rosehips, strawberries, walnuts and citrus.

Geist may be sweetened only to round off the taste: the finished drink holds no more than 10 g/l, expressed as invert sugar. The ending “-geist” after a word that is not a fruit or plant may complete the names of other drinks, as long as it does not mislead the consumer.

The EU register eAmbrosia lists a single geographical indication in this category: Schwarzwälder Himbeergeist from Germany's Black Forest, registered in 1989. The same region also protects fruit spirits such as Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser, Mirabellenwasser, Williamsbirne and Zwetschgenwasser.

Why it matters to you. “Geist” and “wasser” on a label mean different methods: Kirschwasser is made from fermented cherries, Himbeergeist from raspberries steeped in alcohol. Geist is barely sweet. WHO: there is no safe level of alcohol.