Danish Distillers ( da, Det Danske Spiritus Kompagni known as ) is a company that was headquartered in
Aalborg
Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...
, Denmark. Isidor Henius, the father of
Max Henius
Max Henius (June 16, 1859 – November 15, 1935) was a Danish-American biochemist who specialized in the fermentation processes. Max Henius co-founded the American Academy of Brewing in Chicago.
Background
Henius was born in Aalborg, Denmark. ...
, was one of the founders of a company that was acquired by Danish Distillers, which ended up owning all Danish spirits production. It has been owned by the Norwegian-based
Arcus Group since 2013. To avoid a dominant position in the Danish market, Arcus had to divest the brand (
akvavit
''Akvavit'' or ''aquavit'' (; also ''akevitt'' in Norwegian; ''aquavit'' in English) is a distilled spirit that is principally produced in Scandinavia, where it has been produced since the 15th century. ''Akvavit'' is distilled from grain or potat ...
). This brand was sold to Finland's
Altia
Altia Oyj was a Finnish state-owned corporation based in Helsinki, which produces, imports, exports and markets alcoholic beverages. It operates in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia and Latvia. Altia has production plants in Koskenkorva ...
group spirits producer. The brands were not reunited in 2021 when Arcus and Altia merged to form
Anora Group
Anora Group Plc ( fi, Anora Group Oyj) is a Nordic distilled beverage and wine company. It was formed in 2021 as a result of the merger of Norway's Arcus Group
and Finland's Altia Group. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Anora has offices in e ...
as Altia sold Brøndums to Galatea ahead of the merger.
![Aalborg Akvavit 2006 ubt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Aalborg_Akvavit_2006_ubt.jpeg)
The company is known for its Aalborg akvavits and
Gammel Dansk
Gammel Dansk is a bitters (herbal alcoholic preparation) produced by Arcus-Gruppen in Oslo, Norway, originally developed and produced by Danish Distillers in Denmark. Traditionally it is drunk by Danes at certain festive occasions, often in conne ...
bitter. It was established in 1881 by
C. F. Tietgen. The factory is located west of the
Limfjord Bridge
Limfjordsbroen is a Danish bridge which connects Nørresundby and Aalborg over Limfjord, a shallow sound. It was inaugurated 30 March 1933 in the presence of approximately 30,000 spectators and attended by Thorvald Stauning
Thorvald August Mari ...
. Completed in 1931, it was designed in
Neoclassical style by the architect
Alf Cock-Clausen
Alf Cock-Clausen (2 March 1886 – 10 July 1983) was a Danish architect. He was active during the transition from Neoclassicism to Functionalism and many of his works show influence from Art Deco. His factory for the distillery De Danske S ...
. It is now a Danish National Heritage site.
The factory in Aalborg closed in April 2015 when production was moved to
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
[
]
References
Food and drink companies established in 1881
Companies based in Aalborg
Danish distilled drinks
Danish companies established in 1881
{{Denmark-company-stub