Bertrand Eau de Vie de Gentiane (Gentian spirit) 45% 700ml

The Bertrand family settled in Uberach more than a century and a half ago, taking on a village restaurant and — drawing on the surrounding orchards, brewing tradition and farm activity — beginning to distill local fruit. Joseph Bertrand established the distillery in 1874. The house operated as a family business through the twentieth century, producing the broad Alsatian eau-de-vie repertoire and a parallel range of macerated fruit liqueurs at lower ABV.

Wolfberger, the Alsatian wine and spirits cooperative, acquired Bertrand in the late 1990s. From 2003 the distillery added French whisky to its output, releasing it under the Uberach and Saint Wendelin labels — names drawn from the village and a local saint — and earning a position in the small French-whisky scene. The eaux-de-vie remained the traditional anchor: kirsch (cherry), mirabelle (small yellow plum), quetsch (blue plum), framboise sauvage, poire William, prune vieille (oak-aged plum), gentiane, myrtille, baies de houx (holly berry), fleur de sureau (elderflower) — most at 45% ABV, single-fruit, distilled from estate-pressed mash.

Wolfberger announced in March 2025 that the Uberach distillery would close, with whisky production relocating to Colmar. The distillery had been one of the oldest continuously-operating in Alsace; the closure ends 151 years on the original site. The Bertrand label and brand are expected to continue from the Colmar location, though the future of the eau-de-vie range under the same name is uncertain at the time of writing. The line currently in trade — including Bouchon's listing — represents existing inventory from the Uberach period.