●THE AMARO ATLAS

RECORD gurktaler-alpenkraeuter · EVIDENCE GRADE B · UNCLAIMED · LAST VERIFIED 2026-07-09

Gurktaler Alpenkräuter

Vienna · Austria · 48.208, 16.374

REGION: central europeTRADITION: KräuterlikörEST. 1956WEBSITE ↗

ZONE 01 — VERIFIED FACTS

Founded
1956, when Richard Bittner took over a small distillery in Gurk, Carinthia, and created the Gurktaler Alpenkräuter herbal specialty using herbs grown at Gurk Cathedral's garden and surrounding Gurktal valley fields.B·1
ABV (core Alpenkräuter)
27% vol.C·3
Botanical count
A secret recipe of 59 herbs, roots, seeds and fruits, sourced predominantly in the Gurktal valley, Carinthia.C·3
Fresh + dried herb use
Gurktaler Alpenkräuter is described by retailers as the only herbal liqueur in its category to use fresh herbs alongside dried ones, credited with giving it a milder, more rounded taste.C·3
Award
Gold medal, Bitters category, World Spirits Award 2013.B·5
Corporate structure
Operating brand of Gurktaler Aktiengesellschaft (Firmenbuch FN 389840w, Heiligenstädter Str. 43, 1190 Vienna), a Vienna-registered holding spun off from Schlumberger AG in 2012/2013; the former operating subsidiary Gurktaler Alpenkräuter GmbH was merged into Gurktaler AG effective 30 September 2022. Majority owner (~81%) is H. Underberg-Albrecht GmbH & Co. Verwaltungs- und Vertriebs KG.B·1
Distribution
Sold and distributed via Top Spirit Handels- und Verkaufsgesellschaft m.b.H. (Vienna), Schlumberger's spirits distribution arm.B·2
Production/sourcing site
Herb sourcing and the brand's historic production site is Gurk, Carinthia (approx. 46.9078, 14.2911), distinct from the holding company's Vienna legal seat.B·1

ZONE 02 — AI-COLLATED SUMMARY

AI-ASSISTED · FROM GRADED PUBLIC SOURCES

Gurktaler Alpenkräuter is an Austrian Alpine herbal bitter liqueur founded in 1956 in Gurk, Carinthia, built on a secret recipe of 59 herbs, roots, seeds and fruits that notably includes fresh as well as dried botanicals. Bottled at 27% ABV, it won gold in the Bitters category at the World Spirits Award 2013. The brand now sits within Gurktaler Aktiengesellschaft, a Vienna-registered holding majority-owned by the H. Underberg-Albrecht group, and is distributed via Top Spirit. The range also includes a milder line extension and a low-ABV sea-buckthorn aperitif that is fruity rather than bitter and does not itself qualify as an amaro.

AI-collated from the graded sources below; operator review pending. Re-verified 2026-07-09: the Alpen-Aperitif line's ABV and non-bitter, fruit-forward style were corrected against re-fetched sources after the original draft mis-stated it as a 0% non-alcoholic product.

ZONE 03 — PRODUCER-SUBMITTED NOTES

This record is unclaimed. This space opens to the producer when they claim it. Producer claiming is coming soon.

PRODUCTS ON RECORD

Gurktaler Alpenkräuter

27% ABV · 700ML

BOTTLE IMAGE
ADDED BY THE PRODUCER

SUBCATEGORY alpinoRING coreTRADITION KräuterlikörSELF-IDENTIFIED “Alpine herbal bitter liqueur (Kräuterlikör / Bitterlikör)”

The core expression of the range: a dark-brown Alpine herbal liqueur made to a secret recipe of 59 herbs, roots, seeds and fruits sourced largely in the Gurktal valley of Carinthia. Distinctively for the category it uses fresh herbs alongside dried ones, which producers and retailers credit for a milder, more rounded bitterness than harsher traditional bitters. Won gold in the Bitters category at the World Spirits Award 2013.

BOTANICAL MATRIX — 11 GRADED EDGES

  • Sage leaves · herbal/aromaticC·3
  • Centaury · bitteringC·3
  • Galangal · spice/rootC·3
  • Chamomile · herbal/aromaticC·3
  • Gentian root · bitteringC·3
  • Lavender blossoms · aromaticC·3
  • Juniper berries · aromatic/spiceC·3
  • Rosemary leaves · herbal/aromaticC·3
  • Wormwood · bitteringC·4
  • Thyme · herbal/aromaticC·4
  • Lemon balm · aromaticC·4

DESCRIPTORS

  • herbal ▮▮▮▮▮C·4
  • bitter-mild ▮▮▮▮▮C·3
  • honeyed sweetness ▮▮▮▮▮C·4
  • earthy ▮▮▮▮▮C·4

Gurktaler Der Milde

27% ABV · 700ML

BOTTLE IMAGE
ADDED BY THE PRODUCER

SUBCATEGORY — (family ring)RING familyTRADITION KräuterlikörSELF-IDENTIFIED “Mild Alpine herbal spirit”

A gentler line extension within the same herbal-spirit family, described by the distributor as deriving its softer character from a carefully balanced composition of selected, locally sourced fresh herbs. Bitterness intensity relative to the core Alpenkräuter is not independently confirmed, so it is placed in the family ring pending further verification.

BOTANICAL MATRIX — 1 GRADED EDGES

  • Selected Gurktal herbs (unspecified varieties) · herbal/aromaticB·2

DESCRIPTORS

  • mild herbal ▮▮▮▮▮B·2
  • fresh ▮▮▮▮▮B·2

Gurktaler Alpen-Aperitif Sanddorn

16% ABV · 700ML

BOTTLE IMAGE
ADDED BY THE PRODUCER

SUBCATEGORY — (family ring)RING adjacentTRADITION KräuterlikörSELF-IDENTIFIED “Fruity aperitif liqueur (Alpine herbs + sea buckthorn)”

A fruit-forward line extension combining a base of Gurktal Alpine herbs with sea buckthorn (Sanddorn), giving an orange hue and notes of orange, mandarin and apricot. The distributor and press explicitly market it as fruity rather than bitter, with no defining bitterness attested by any source; it is retained here only as adjacent context for the producer, not as a conforming amaro. Re-verified 2026-07-09: the original draft incorrectly recorded this as a 0% ABV non-alcoholic product, which is not supported by any source; corrected to the confirmed 16% ABV alcoholic liqueur and renamed to match its actual retail name.

BOTANICAL MATRIX — 2 GRADED EDGES

  • Sea buckthorn · fruit/aromaticB·2
  • Gurktaler Alpine herbs (unspecified varieties) · herbal/aromaticB·2

DESCRIPTORS

  • citrus ▮▮▮▮▮B·2
  • fruity ▮▮▮▮▮B·2

SERVES

Neat, room temperature

producer
  • · 50 ml Gurktaler Alpenkräuter

Serve neat at room temperature to let the 59-herb blend open up fullyC·6

On ice as digestif or aperitif

canonical
  • · 50 ml Gurktaler Alpenkräuter
  • · Ice

Serve over ice, before or after a meal

Gurktaler Spritz

producer
  • · 4 cl Gurktaler Alpenkräuter
  • · Prosecco or sparkling wine, top
  • · Soda, splash
  • · Orange slice, garnish

Build over ice and top with sparkling wine and sodaC·4

ZONE 04 — COMMUNITY TASTING NOTES

RESERVED — community notes open in V2 with moderation and bias handling. The contributions ledger is already recording.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Where is Gurktaler Alpenkräuter made?
Gurktaler Alpenkräuter is made in Vienna, Austria, and was founded in 1956.
What style of amaro is Gurktaler Alpenkräuter?
On The Amaro Atlas, Gurktaler Alpenkräuter is recorded in the core ring, alpino subcategory, within the Kräuterlikör tradition. The producer describes it as "Alpine herbal bitter liqueur (Kräuterlikör / Bitterlikör)".

SOURCES — A–D GRADED (6)

  1. [1]BProducer/registry discovery synthesis (Gurktaler AG corporate structure, brand history, Firmenbuch FN 389840w, Underberg-Albrecht ownership, September 2022 merger) · database · accessed 2026-07-09Compiled from company/registry pages (firmenabc.at, northdata.com, marketscreener.com, gruppe.gurktaler.at) and de.wikipedia.org; corroborated on re-verification via Northdata (merger effective 30 Sept 2022) and independent ownership-percentage search (~81% / 75%+ H. Underberg-Albrecht across multiple retellings).
  2. [2]BGurktaler Alpenkräuter brand page · Top Spirit Handels- und Verkaufsgesellschaft m.b.H. (Schlumberger group distributor) · press · accessed 2026-07-09Official distributor brand page covering the product range including Der Milde and the Alpen-Aperitif Sanddorn (confirmed alcoholic, 16% ABV, fruity/non-bitter, on re-fetch 2026-07-09).
  3. [3]CAggregated retailer listings confirming 59-herb recipe, 27% ABV, fresh-herb method, named botanicals (sage, centaury, galangal, chamomile, gentian, lavender, juniper, rosemary), 1956 founding by Richard Bittner · Multiple European spirits retailers (myspirits.ch, myspirits.eu, spirituosenworld.de, kaufland.de, beowein.de, banneke.com, spirituosen-superbillig.com, weisshaus.de, trinklusiv.at, conalco.de) · other · accessed 2026-07-09Consistent cross-retailer agreement on core facts, re-confirmed via independent search pass 2026-07-09; treated as C-grade secondary commercial sourcing pending a fetchable producer-official ingredient statement.
  4. [4]CAggregated retailer/review listings on botanicals and tasting notes (wormwood, thyme, lemon balm; nose/palate/finish descriptors) · 1001spirits.com, cantinasabauda1861.com, drinksandco.com, delicando.com, winebuyers.com, tasteatlas.com · other · accessed 2026-07-09Botanicals beyond the confirmed core list (wormwood, thyme, lemon balm) are marked probable as they are not corroborated by a producer-official ingredient statement.
  5. [5]BWorld Spirits Award 2013 gold medal, Bitters category, confirmed via distributor press release and multiple retailers · Schlumberger/Top Spirit press release (gruppe.schlumberger.at, 23 April 2013) corroborated by onlinefromaustria.com, myspirits.eu, kaufland.de, hubauer-bautzen.de, and independent re-search 2026-07-09 · press · accessed 2026-07-09Direct press-release URL returned 404 on refetch; award corroborated by consistent independent retailer citation of the same 2013 Bitters gold across two separate research passes. One delicando.com listing cited 2014 instead of 2013 for the same award; 2013 is treated as correct given majority corroboration.
  6. [6]CGurktaler Alpine Herbs 27% Vol. 0.7l product page · delicando.com · other · accessed 2026-07-09Confirms ABV, tasting notes (nose/palate/finish) and serving suggestion (room temperature, aperitif/digestif use).

A producer-official / regulatory · B reputable published · C secondary · D community/unverified