Ingredients
Hand-harvested red cones of the Arolla stone pine (Pinus cembra), gathered above 1,800 metres and macerated whole.
- ✦Arolla stone pine cones
- ✦Alpine herbs
- ✦Cane sugar
- ✦Mountain spring water
History of the Brand
The Arolla pine grows at the treeline of the Austrian and Italian Alps, and its cones have been steeped in spirit by mountain households for centuries.
Destillerie Josef Hofer in Styria, working since 1797, made the practice commercial with Zirbenz.
Cones are picked by hand in high summer, when the resin is at its most aromatic, which gives the liqueur its pale rose colour.
It arrived in the US in the 2000s and became a bartender staple for adding alpine forest character to stirred drinks.
Tasting Characteristics
Fresh pine resin, cedar and a faint berry note.
Sweet and forested — pine sap, vanilla and gentle citrus, with only light bitterness.
Warm, resinous and clean.
Flavor meter
How to serve it
- 01Chilled neat after a heavy alpine meal.
- 02A quarter-ounce in a whisky Old Fashioned for forest depth.
- 03Split with an alpine amaro like Braulio over ice.
- 04Over vanilla gelato.
Where to Get It
Distributed in the US and across Europe; easy to find in Austria and northern Italy.
Bottle shops
Usually shelved with alpine and herbal liqueurs.
Online spirits retailers
Search 'Zirbenz Stone Pine'.
Alpine resort shops
Widely sold across Austria and South Tyrol.
Where to buy Zirbenz Stone Pine Liqueur
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Zirbenz Stone Pine Liqueur FAQ
Is Zirbenz an amaro?
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Not strictly — it is an alpine liqueur, sweet rather than bitter, but it is used in the same after-dinner and cocktail roles.
What does stone pine taste like?
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Fresh resin and cedar, with a sweetness closer to vanilla than to citrus.