🥃 Stroh

Stroh is an Austrian spirits brand started in 1832 by Sebastian Stroh in St. Paul in Carinthia; today the company is based in Klagenfurt. Best known is Stroh Original Inländer Rum, known as Stroh 80, at 80 % ABV. It is used in hot drinks, punches and baking.

The official website names 1832 as the beginning, when Sebastian Stroh began distilling spirits. According to available data, the business was then continued by his widow Maria in Klagenfurt, and by 1857 production had expanded to liqueurs and brandies. In 1998–1999 the family sold shares in the company to Eckes AG, and in 2008 the director Harold Burstein bought out the company in a management buyout. According to available data, it is now owned by Austrian owners.

Inländer Rum has a particular story. Austria-Hungary had no tropical colonies, so, according to available data, a "rum-like" drink developed that is made not from sugar cane but from spirit made from sugar beet, with added flavourings and colouring. According to Spiritradar, since 2008 the base has been cane molasses, but the company keeps the exact recipe as a family secret. Different sources describe the new EU rules differently, so we do not claim that the drink meets the category "rum".

The range includes Stroh 80 (80 % ABV), Stroh 60, Stroh 40 and Stroh 38; catalogues also list 54, 55 and 35 %. In the US a version called Stroh 160 (80 % ABV) is sold. In German-speaking countries the word "Stroh Rum" has become a generic name for strong rum-like drinks.

Why this matters to you. Stroh 80 is not an ordinary rum: it contains 80 % ABV. It is used diluted, in hot drinks and baking, not as an ordinary drink. Check the strength on the label: between Stroh 38 and Stroh 80 the difference is more than double. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.