Becherovka

Bits and pieces of trivia

The Austrian emperor took a liking to Becherovka and in 1904 granted the Johann Becher company the prestigious title of "Imperial and Royal Court Supplier." The company supplied the imperial court 50 liters of Becherovka every month. This ensured a high level of promotion, because what important personality would not want to keep up with the Vienna court?

It can be said that Gustav Becher was one of the first advocates of the "artificial shortage" marketing tactic. Gustav introduced a new business strategy based on a simple principle: more customers but a small quantity of the liquor for each. The number of customers grew to a respectable 12,000 at that time but none of them could get more than 5 liters of Becherovka a month. The demand exceeded the offer.

It was also Gustav Becher who initiated the manufacture of china cups, which he sold as in addition to the liquor and which Becherovka lovers can still buy today.

Exports are first mentioned in 1884, when Becherovka was exported to Szczecin, Poland. In 1885 it was exported to Vienna and Munich and, in 1888, to Paris. In 1904 the first supplies were shipped to Italy and Egypt.

Thanks to the Czechoslovak General Consulate, Becherovka entered the American and Canadian markets in 1930 and sales started in England eight years later.

In 1976, the Exhibition Hall opened in Karlovy Vary, which was transformed into the Jan Becher Museum. Many famous personalities have visited the museum since that time.

On Monday, September 15, 2003, famous scholar and writer Erich von Däniken honored the Jan Becher Museum with his visit.

The museum is part of the Becherovka production plant. The so-called "Becherovka pipeline" – a stainless steel and glass pipeline almost 9 km long which transports Becherovka from the barrels to the bottling plant – runs through this building.

All of the oak barrels in which Becherovka matures are hand-made and each is different from the others. The smallest holds 3 liters and the largest has a volume of 53,000 liters.

Factory employees call the stainless steel tank where the contents of the barrels are mixed "the mammoth." It can accommodate 660 hectoliters of Becherovka.