I think I've been Zwack(ed)

I have never been to Hungary, but I have tried many different herbal liqueurs. Many of us are familiar with Jagermeister, but in my study of Hungary, I found an interesting liqueur that I had never heard of and decided to do some more research.

Zwack (as it is called in the US) is an 80 proof (40% ABV) herbal liqueur made in Hungary with a secret blend of more than 40 different herbs and spices (Jager has 56). Some of the herbs and spices are distilled, some are macerated, then blended together and aged in oak casks at the factory in Budapest for over 6 months. This process gives Zwack liqueur its signature dark, amber color. It is a little known fact that Zwack is known as the National Shot of Hungary.

Unicum (as Zwack is labeled in Hungary) was created by Dr. József Zwack, the Royal Physician to the Habsburg Court, for Emperor Joseph II in 1790. It was not until 1840 that his 20-year-old son, Jozsef Zwack founded J. Zwack & Co., the first Hungarian liqueur manufacturer. By the early 1900s, the Zwack company had become one of the leading distilleries in central Europe, producing over 200 liqueurs and spirits, exported all over the world.

Budapest and the Zwack factory was destroyed during World War II. After the war, with the Communist regime, the factory was nationalized in 1948. The Zwack family fled the country, and migrated to the United States and after several months in Ellis Island’s refugee camp were granted US entry purely because they possessed the Zwack recipe. They later settled in the Bronx in 1949. It was in the US that Peter Zwack learned all the ins and outs of the spirits industry.

In 1988, just one year before the fall of Communism, Peter Zwack returned to Hungary and resumed production with the original Zwack formula. He repurchased his family business from the State in the summer of 1989, and by the spring of 1990, the original Zwack product was reintroduced to the Hungarian market. That same year, Peter was named Hungarian Ambassador to the United States.

The Zwack Company has since resumed its position as the leading distillery in Eastern Europe. In 2008, Peter Zwack handed over the company’s leadership to the family’s 6th generation, his own children, Sandor and Izabella Zwack, to continue the family tradition. One of their first initiatives was to launch Zwack in the US, a landmark in the history of the company and for any internationally revered brand.

Zwack is most often served ice-cold, straight up, as a shot. It is also commonly served as a cocktail dubbed the “Mad Hungarian” (an ice-cold Zwack shot dropped into a high-energy drink).