Grafschafter Wacholder pays for the heathland where it grows
From juniper berries in the Grafschaft Bentheim region, the Feinbrennerei Sasse distillery produces two spirits: Grafschafter Kräuterwacholder at 32% ABV and Grafschafter Heide Gin at 45% ABV. The berries are hand-picked in nature reserves, and a portion of the sales proceeds is reinvested into their conservation.
Grafschafter Wacholder is the heathland line from the Feinbrennerei Sasse distillery in Schöppingen. The herbal juniper spirit is a liqueur with 32% ABV, and the Heide Gin is a gin with 45% ABV—both made from berries harvested in the juniper heaths of the Grafschaft Bentheim district, both in 700-milliliter bottles. From the sales proceeds of the Kräuterwacholder, Sasse feeds a special fund at the Naturschutzstiftung Grafschaft Bentheim (Grafschaft Bentheim Nature Conservation Foundation); more than 40,000 euros have been raised this way.
Juniper grows everywhere. Juniper heathland does not—it is a cultural landscape created by centuries of grazing, and it disappears as soon as no one sends sheep there anymore. These two bottles depend on that very question.
Two paths from the same berry
The raw material is identical, the result is not: berries from the same heathlands produce a mild liqueur and a dry gin.
The Grafschafter Kräuterwacholder comes in at 32% ABV and leans in a softer direction—mild, spicy, with notes of heather honey. It is the older of the two products and the reason this entire line exists.
The Grafschafter Heide Gin sits at 45% ABV and is the first gin distilled from juniper berries from Grafschaft Bentheim. Earthy, mild juniper meets lemon and grapefruit.
The difference between 32 and 45 percent is greater in the glass than the numbers suggest. The liqueur is a digestif for after a meal; the gin belongs in a tonic glass with plenty of ice. Anyone who tries both side-by-side tastes the same berry in two completely different ways—once cradled in sweetness, once raw.
A special fund at the nature conservation foundation
Since 2010, Feinbrennerei Sasse has been committed to preserving native animal and plant species—and the connection to the product is no minor detail.
The Kräuterwacholder was first distilled for the district's anniversary in 2010. The commitment began in the same year. The projects are financed through a specially created special fund, "Grafschafter Kräuterwacholder," at the Naturschutzstiftung Grafschaft Bentheim, fed by sales proceeds. Over the past years, more than 40,000 euros have been collected.
This is that rare case where regionality becomes quantifiable. The berries come from the heath, the money goes back into the heath, and without the heath, the berries would not exist. A closed loop that you don't see while drinking, but do see when you read about it.
What happens with the money
The foundation lists the projects individually, with specific amounts—which is unusually concrete for a brand.
In the Rieselfelder bird sanctuary north of Münster, a 430-hectare site, Sasse is supporting the construction of new wooden walkways with 15,000 euros; the old ones date back to the 1980s, and the new ones are intended to be barrier-free. Around 70 events take place there annually, where children aged six and up use nets to search for insects and aquatic animals under guidance.
At the Bardel Monastery, a juniper grove spanning nine hectares is being renatured, also with 15,000 euros: the black cherry had overgrown the area and robbed the heath of its habitat. The soil is being cleared, after which the Nordhorn Zoo will introduce a flock of sheep to keep the black cherry in check in the future. The goal is the return of species such as tiger beetles and wild bees.
And in the Tillenberge near Nordhorn, an inland dune landscape of around 96 hectares that has been protected since 1996, the focus is on the juniper heath itself. The heilpädagogischer Hof Blekker (a curative education farm) is also involved there.
The Bentheimer Landschaf keeps the heath open
The maintenance is carried out by a breed of sheep that nearly vanished itself.
In the summer, Bentheimer Land sheep and goats graze in the Tillenberge, ensuring that the land does not become overgrown with bushes and trees. Without them, the heath would turn into woodland within a few years—and the juniper berries with it.
The breed was almost extinct a few years ago. Today, the population in the Weser-Ems region includes more than 1,100 breeding sheep. The animals are brought to Tillenberge during a traditional sheep drive from the Nordhorn Zoo along the Vechte river—a migration you can watch.
The chain is thus complete: The sheep keep the heath open, the heath bears the juniper, the juniper becomes a bottle, and the bottle pays for the sheep.
In tonic, in a digestif, without alcohol
The Heide Gin can handle a subtle tonic—its juniper is earthy and mild and would be masked by too much quinine.
Lots of ice, a slice of grapefruit instead of the usual cucumber, and the citrus notes from the distillate get some company. It finishes earthy, citrusy, and dry. The Kräuterwacholder, on the other hand, belongs neat in a small glass: after a meal, at room temperature, that’s when the heather honey notes shine through.
Go ahead and try them side-by-side when you have guests. You don't need anything more than two glasses and two minutes of explanation—and you will be surprised how many people will subsequently want to know what a juniper heath actually is. It is that rare case where the story behind the bottle is as well-received as its contents.
By the way, juniper without alcohol is also available: The Junipaero Gin Syrup is found with the non-alcoholic aperitifs. What else the distillery extracts from herbs is shown by the Sasse liqueurs—and the entire story is at the Feinbrennerei Sasse.
