Meet the people behind the Pálinka 2.0/ Bestillo
The road from rock pub to distillery - In 2003, driven by their strong desire to create something of lasting value in their home village, two young couples founded the company Boldogkő-Fruit Kft. The four founder-owners have been building the fame of the Bestillo distillery together ever since. We met up with one of them, Mónika Czakó, who shared the Bestillo story with us.
Bortársaság How did the enterprise start? And why pálinka?
Mónika Czakó In 2001, my husband Gábor Czakó and I, went to New Zealand. During the two years we spent there, we really came to love the country-life. It also seemed very appealing to us that agricultural activity in New Zealand is mainly carried out by small, family businesses.
When we finally came back to Budapest in 2003, somehow we couldn't find our place in the crowded and noisy city. During this time, at the weekends we headed to Boldogkőváralja, and we always wondered what we could give back to this village where we were born. We had many far-fetched ideas, like the idea of opening a rock pub, but somehow none of them was the one. Then, once on the way back home Gábor said, "let's build a pálinka distillery!" Gábor's grandparents used to work at the local ÁFÉSZ (a chain of co-op shops before the changes) within which there was a small rentable distillery.
As a kid he used to hang out there, and this sudden idea partly came from these experiences. During dinner with our friends, Zsolt Vavrek and Klára Debreceni, we spilt the beans on our secret plan, and they happily joined us. Eventually, the four of us founded the distillery together.
Bortársaság What technology do you use?
Mónika Czakó At the beginning we had no idea which direction to go in: whether we should go for the traditional "kisüsti" or the modern "egytornyos" (single-tower) still. All the experts we asked swore by different technologies. That's when Gábor came up with the idea to split the raw material into two. Thus, one part was distilled in the traditional still, while the other was put in the single-tower still. Thus, we simply compared the end products. The outcome was obvious, so therefore we invested into a state-of-the-art single-tower still.
Bortársaság How big is the distillery and what's its capacity?
Mónika Czakó Currently, we produce 30,000 bottles. As our aim is to deliberately stay small, even in the final stage of our development, we wouldn't like to exceed 60,000 bottles. We would like to keep our "artisan" status on the market.
Bortársaság What base materials do you use? Where do you get these fruits from?
Mónika Czakó We have our own fruit and also buy in fruit. At the moment, we own a 40 acre plot, but only 6.4 acres of it is dedicated to growing apricots. We're gradually spreading the planting, but this takes time.
Bortársaság Which is your most important product?
Mónika Czakó Our leading brand is unquestionably Gönci apricot. On our own land this fruit occupies 95 per cent of the plot, while the rest is Hungarian Kajszi apricot. The Gönci apricot small, with a 35-41 mm diameter. As the aroma of fruit is always to be found in the layer right under the skin, the most important aspect is possibly the specific size of the skin surface. In this respect the Gönci apricot is the best choice.
Bortársaság Do you have any secret plans, or exciting fruit up your sleeve?
Mónika Czakó We are testing Mahaleb Cherry, which is in fact a special type of wild cherry. It's tiny, black and full of seeds. It's very difficult to process them, but we hope it's worth the effort. Surely, there won't be more than 120 bottles made from it.
Bortársaság What are your plans for the future?
Mónika Czakó We would like to expand the distillery. We plan to open our visitor centre in 2010, where among other things there will be a tasting room, an open-kitchen restaurant and a pálinka museum. We'll also open a superb terrace. There will be grilling al fresco, and up to 70 visitors will be able to enjoy Bestillo pálinkas here at any one time, thus increasing the attractions of the beautiful Zemplén area.
2010. february 16.
