Konig's Westphalian Gin was a ''

Steinhäger Steinhäger is a type of German gin, a spirit flavoured with juniper berries. The name is derived from the Westphalian municipality of Steinhagen, the only place where it is permitted to be produced. For centuries, local distilleries sold s ...

gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients. Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands ...

produced up to the early part of the twentieth century from malt, juniper berries and mineral water at H. C. König's distillery in Steinhagen, Westphalia, Germany. Steinhäger was first produced in 1640.

Background

By an edict of 1688, the "Great Elector" Frederick William of Brandenburg, in his capacity as

Count of Ravensberg The County of Ravensberg () was a historical county of the Holy Roman Empire. Its territory was in present-day eastern Westphalia, Germany, at the foot of the Osning or Teutoburg Forest. History Ravensberg was first mentioned in the 12th c ...

, granted the inhabitants of Steinhagen the exclusive privilege to distil alcohol and the area is still known for its ''Steinhäger'' gins (''wacholder''), distilled from crushed, fermented,

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

berries from the bushes of that plant that grow on the slopes of the nearby

Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest ( ; ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed the ''Teutoburg Forest'' ...

. In the nineteenth century around twenty companies produced the spirit. Only gins distilled near Steinhagen can legally be called ''Steinhäger'' gins.

Marketing

Since Konig's gin was much like other ''

'' gins, it sought to differentiate itself from its competitors through exaggerated advertising slogans. The gin claimed unlikely medicinal benefits under the

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

, "The Spirit that rejuvenates". Other such slogans included "The only perfect gin", "The Royal Liqueur" and "The Royal Appetiser & Digestive".Advertising in the ''Royal Colonial Institute Year Book 1913''
Royal Colonial Institute, London, 1913, p. v. Its advertising included the obviously spurious claim that it was "highly recommended by all doctors against kidney, bladder and stomach troubles and especially for

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

and

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

". In common with other contemporary gins,Stone Gins
''Antique Bottles'', 27 June 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2014. König's was sold in tall

stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...

(''steingut'') bottles, and Konig's was given a red seal in an attempt to make it distinctive. The gin was widely advertised in yearbooks of the period such as '' The Stage Year Book'' and the '' Royal Colonial Institute Year Book'' and in magazines like ''

The English Illustrated Magazine ''The English Illustrated Magazine'' was a monthly publication that ran for 359 issues between October 1883 and August 1913. Features included travel, topography, and a large amount of fiction and were contributed by writers such as Thomas Hardy ...

''. Konig's gin has been marketed in Germany as "Steinhäger-Urquell" ("urquell" translates as "original source" or "wellspring", as with the beer

Pilsner Urquell Pilsner Urquell (; ) is a lager beer brewed at Asahi Breweries' Pilsner Urquell Brewery in Plzeň (German name: Pilsen), Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the world's first pale lager, and its popularity meant it was much copied, and ...

), in an effort to establish a claim as the original and authentic Steinhäger gin.

Claim of Royal warrant

The firm's advertising said that the gin was supplied to the British

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

and

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, and it claimed that the firm held a

royal warrant of appointment Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The royal warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the issuer of t ...

Claim of awards

König boasted that the spirit had over 250 ''Grand Prix'' and gold medals from

trade fair A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific Industry (economics), industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest Product (business), products and se ...

s. The company's gins and liqueurs were shown at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

(The Chicago World's Fair) of 1893.

H.C. König

The firm's British wholesaler was located at Beer Lane, London E.C.Advertising in the ''Royal Colonial Institute Year Book 1914''
Royal Colonial Institute, London, 1914, p. v.Company Overview of Mozart Distillerie GmbH
'

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'', 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Antique German Salt Glaze Stoneware Gin Bottle HC KonigKonig bottles of Germany and Austria at Miniature Bottle Library.Types of Gin: Steinhäger
Gins German distilled drinks British royal warrant holders 1640 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire