Williams Pear Brandy – 350 ml

Gölles Williams Pear Brandy 350 ml. Juicy pear, double-distilled, without wood.

Williams Pear Brandy in the handy 350-ml bottle is a clear fine brandy from the Styrian distillery Gölles, distilled from fully ripe Williams pears. No barrel-aged brandy, no pear liqueur, and no fruit brandy with added flavoring.

Williams Pear Brandy is a fruit brandy distilled in copper in Riegersburg, made solely from Williams pears. Hardly any brandy is as well known, and that is precisely where its difficulty lies. Every guest knows how a Williams should smell, and notices immediately if something is missing. The distillery in Riegersburg therefore sees it as the touchstone for every distillery. The half bottle is the perfect way to experience this standard for yourself.

Pear at the forefront, Nashi and grey bread behind

The Williams from Gölles smells clearly and unmistakably of juicy pear, with a hint of Nashi, the Asian Asian pear. Behind the fruit emerge fresh grey bread and a delicate apricot note. On the palate, it is full-bodied and smooth. The fruit remains at the forefront, supported by the alcohol without overpowering it.

Wood plays no role, because Gölles deliberately does not age this brandy in a barrel. For lovers of vanilla, caramel, or roasted aromas, this brandy is not intended. That style is represented by the Alte Williams in the house, which matures in an oak barrel for several years. The clear Williams remains pure fruit. Its color is correspondingly pale as water; a golden shimmer would be a warning sign here.

The small bottle for a first introduction

The 350-ml bottle provides well over 17 glasses of 2 cl each and is therefore ideal for an initial, leisurely tasting. 16 to 18 °C is ideal. At colder temperatures, the pear loses its aroma, and that makes up half the effect of this brandy.

A tall, tulip-shaped glass concentrates the aromas. Serve the Williams neat after a meal that also features pear: pear Helene, a pear tart, or a salad with pear, walnut, and Gorgonzola. It is less suitable for dishes that are too sharply seasoned or heavily smoked, because the delicate fruit gets lost there. A piece of ripe Comté or young mountain cheese works well in contrast; the nutty mildness lets the pear take center stage.

For beginners: Those who want to delve deeper into Williams should choose the spicier Saubirne. Gölles itself describes it as the next step for anyone who already knows the Williams.

Harvest day and copper kettle decide

Whether a Williams brandy succeeds depends less on the variety, according to Gölles, than on the day of the harvest and the work at the kettle. The fruit is picked in August and September, when it is juicy and yellow. Too early, it lacks aroma; too late, and it becomes mealy.

At the distillery, the fruit arrives fresh and is milled without intermediate storage. The mash ferments coolly at 18 to 20 °C, followed by rough distillation and fine distillation in the copper kettle. During the second pass, the distillers cut off the fore- and after-shots. Only the heart makes its way into the glass balloon, where the brandy remains pale as water and settles.

No sugar, flavoring, or alcohol from other sources is added. That is precisely what separates a fine brandy from an ordinary schnapps, where thirty percent fruit is sufficient. What the pear brings remains; what it lacks is not supplemented.

The benchmark for every other fruit brandy

Anyone who truly knows a Williams has a benchmark for all other fruit brandies. That is precisely what the half bottle is suitable for: as a reference in your own cabinet, as a gift to bring to a dinner party, or as a gift for someone who has just discovered fine brandies.

If you like the brandy, it is also available in the large 700-ml bottle. After shipping, the Williams needs two to three weeks to settle before you open it. Stored upright, cool, and in the dark, it will last indefinitely.

A Williams that beautifies nothing and adds nothing, and precisely because of that shows how a ripe pear can taste in a glass.