History of AALBORG AKVAVIT

V&S Distillers (formerly Danish Distillers) is Scandinavia’s largest producer and supplier of spirits for consumption. The foundation for Danish Distillers has always been aquavit, and today we are the world’s largest producer and exporter of aquavit, supplying over 10 geographic markets and Duty Free/Travel Retail.

The company was founded by C.A. Olesen and C.F. Tietgen in 1881. Both were enterprising businessmen, and they resolved together to create a company that would produce and sell the finest Danish distilled spirits – this marked the beginning of a comprehensive series of acquisitions of the best Danish distilleries. Our production is therefore based on old Danish distillery traditions, and many of our products are still being produced today using their original recipes.

C.A. Olesen	C.F. Tietgen

Olesen and Tietgen employed Polish-born Isidor Henius to be managing director of several of the factories. He had completed his training as a distiller at just 17 years of age, and soon became prolific in his development of new products. Several of the labels we know and appreciate today derive from this time.

Isidor Henius

Another big creative personality of the past was Harald Jensen. He took over his father’s distillery in Aalborg in 1862 and developed his own aquavit. Harald Jensen was in serious competition with Isidor Henius and Danish Distillers, until he sold his company in 1883, becoming part of the strong aquavit family.

The Brøndum family, with proud distillery traditions, had been producing their well-known BRØNDUM KUMMENAQUAVIT since 1840, and in 1893, this family also sold their company to Danish Distillers.

Anthon Brøndum represented sound business acumen, while Harald Jensen introduced a touch of creativity into the distillery traditions – which was reflected in an innovative approach to the use of herbs. Together they created the foundation which Danish Distillers still rests upon today.

At the time when Danish Distillers was founded, there were countless tiny distilleries in Denmark – actually over 2,500, of which 273 were in Copenhagen alone. After the mergers, their numbers declined sharply, and by 1923, Danish Distillers owned all the remaining distilleries in Denmark.

Today, all aquavit production and distillery expertise has been gathered together at our distillery in Aalborg, which is one of the reasons why our aquavit range goes by the collective name of AALBORG AKVAVIT. There are currently 17 different aquavits in the AALBORG family, and the history of these products stretches right from 1840 to the present day.

If you ever want to drop in at our distillery in Aalborg, you will, of course, be very welcome. For a modest fee, tours of the distillery can be arranged, including a visit to the small aquavit museum located in a former bomb shelter under the distillery.

You can read more about our distillery in Aalborg and the museum at www.vsdanmark.dk.