Rothman & Winter
The Austrian eau-de-vie and fruit-liqueur house, founded in 1959 in Krems, whose Orchard Apricot liqueur has become the modern cocktail revival’s reference apricot brandy. Pure Klosterneuburg apricot character, no artificial sweetening, no synthetic flavorings. The Hotel Nacional Special and the broader apricot-liqueur tradition anchor here.
Rothman & Winter is the Austrian eau-de-vie and fruit-liqueur operation that the modern cocktail revival has anchored on for premium-grade apricot liqueur. Founded in 1959 in Krems, Austria (an Alpine wine-and-fruit region that has been distilling fruit brandies for centuries), the house produces a portfolio of eau-de-vies (pear, plum, raspberry, cherry) and fruit liqueurs (apricot, cherry, peach) that have become serious-bar references since their American import distribution began in the early 2000s.
The Orchard Apricot liqueur is the brand’s cocktail-essential bottle. The production process starts with Klosterneuburg apricots—a specific Austrian apricot varietal that has been cultivated in the Wachau Valley since the 1860s and produces a deeper, more aromatic apricot character than industrial apricot varieties. The fruit is fermented, distilled into eau-de-vie (a clear apricot brandy with no added sugar), and then blended with additional macerated fresh apricot and a measured amount of sugar to produce the finished liqueur. The result is bottled at 24% ABV with the deep, slightly tart, unmistakably-apricot character that distinguishes Rothman & Winter from the older commercial apricot-liqueur brands (Marie Brizard, DeKuyper) that dominated the cocktail market through most of the 20th century.
The Hotel Nacional Special is the canonical exotic-cocktail recipe that anchors on Rothman & Winter. The cocktail—recovered by Jeff Berry from Cuban-hotel-bar pre-revolution sources—combines aged Cuban-style rum, fresh pineapple juice, fresh lime juice, apricot liqueur, and simple syrup. The apricot liqueur in the original recipe was almost certainly a Marie Brizard or similar mid-century European apricot brandy; modern reconstructions specify Rothman & Winter because the brand’s apricot character is closer to what the original recipe assumed than the contemporary commercial alternatives. For modern revival apricot-liqueur cocktails generally, Rothman & Winter is the bottle to buy.
Beyond the Hotel Nacional Special, the brand’s apricot liqueur appears in cocktails like the Periodista (a pre-Castro Cuban cocktail with rum, lime, apricot liqueur, and orange curaçao), the Charlie Chaplin (with sloe gin and lime), and the broader category of pre-Prohibition apricot-liqueur cocktails that the modern revival has recovered.
The R&W portfolio’s other bottles are worth knowing. Orchard Pear is the pear-liqueur equivalent and works in pear-forward cocktails. Orchard Cherry is a cherry liqueur with similar production approach (different from Heering’s Danish bitter-cherry profile). Crème de Violette is the brand’s violet liqueur, used in the Aviation cocktail and other proto-tiki gin builds. All the R&W products work in the same fruit-forward production register.
US distribution is through Niche Import Co., which has built a serious specialty-spirits import portfolio across multiple European producers. The brand’s American availability has improved across the 2010s and is now consistent at well-stocked liquor stores and online specialty retailers.
Where to buy: Specialty wine and spirits retailers, Total Wine, K&L Wines. Amazon availability varies.