Zirben Pine Fruit - the Agave of the Alps No easier to reach than to cultivate, the tree may take over thirty years before producing fruit, and thereafter has a harvest cycle of five to seven years. In the interest of conservation and future harvests, only 10-20% of each tree's fruit is picked, and by law only in Steiermark and Carinthia. To harvest, mountaineers must climb up through dense branches to reach the fruit. When ripe in early July, the fruit exhibits a brilliant reddish hue and sweet pine floral essence captured in Zirbenz. The pine fruit flavor also picks up notes of other high alpine flora, including blueberry, the mountain rose and a hint of peppery reed grass. Zirbenz draws its flavor and natural red color from the freshly picked fruit of the Arolla Stone Pine grown in the Austrian Alps. With a taste and nose instantly familiar, Zirbenz is very smooth, slightly sweet, and has a crisp pine floral finish. Generations of mountaineers practiced in the art of harvest work with Josef Hofer to create this artisanal liqueur. Enjoy après ski, as an after-dinner beverage, or as the highlight to a mixer. Handcrafted and bottled in Austria by Josef Hofer, a family distillery since 1797.