Edelbrennerei Dirker

Arno Josef Dirker is 45 years old and originates from Moembris, a little town outside of Aschaffenburg. In a little while he rose to become one of the most successful distillers in Germany. His homeland is unmistakably Franconia, his family has been living there since the 17th century, as assumably an Icelandic sailor named Dirker had grounded in that area and fathered six misbegotten children. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather had been forest officials – he first learned the trade of carpentry. Since his family, however, owns a large meadow with 700 apple trees, he discovered his passion for cider. The impulsion of his career was caused by a different fruit from the family plantation though: In 1986 they had a plentiful crop of Damson plums. Dirker brought the surplus to a friend who was a distiller. From that time on he steadily brought him fruit for fruit brandy, helped doing work in his distillery and along the way learned the details on how to make fruit brandy. He created his first fruit brandy, a fruit brandy of wild berries, in that very distillery. ´I mixed up everything from blackberries to raspberries – all the berries I had.´ Dirker acquired his own distillation license and distillery in 1992.

Author: Caroline Porsiel

Caroline Porsiel is a master distiller and liqueurist based in East Ellijay, Georgia. She founded House of Applejay, a fine spirits and liqueur distillery, in 2022 with her mother, Sabine, crafting award-winning products like Applejay from Ellijay, Mt. Frozen Knob Vodka, and Winter Cherry Mountain Liqueur. The distillery won a 2024 Best of Georgia Award and a 2025 Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition for its Winter Cherry Mountain Liqueur. As a founding member of the AMBRU Campaign, launched in 2020, Porsiel advocates for the global recognition of American Brandy and Rum. She continues to drive innovation in the craft spirits industry from her active distillery in the heart of Georgia’s apple country.