Destilerías Acha

Basque Country

Destilerias Acha is a historic spirits producer that continues to push boundaries of quality and innovation in northern Spain’s Basque Country. With a focus on Basque vermouth, their wide range of spirits draws from the region’s bountiful produce of grapes, grains and apples, making them a modern leader in the industry.

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Introducing the Producer

Basque Benchmark

Destilerías Acha is known across Spain for their historic legacy and commitment to quality. Regional Basque and Spanish products are core to their identity, though a ceaseless throughline of innovation has seen the development (and resurrection) of a wide range of spirits categories including whisky, gin, and brandy. Their Pacharán Acha ‘Sierra de Orduña’ is the benchmark of the category, and the house’s distinctive vermouths are enjoyed across the country and around the world.

History & Origins

A Family Legacy, Reimagined

Destilerías Acha was founded in 1831 by Bordeaux businessman Paúl Pomes in the city of Bilbao. The Hervé & Moulin copper pot still that made some of their earliest products is one of the oldest continuously operating stills in Europe. Manuel Acha later joined the enterprise to manage the distillery. In 1880, the extension of the railroad allowed the two men to expand to a larger building in the town of Amurrio. Soon after, Paúl Pomes retired and sold his portion of the business to Manuel Acha, whose descendents have continued to run the distillery since 1886.

Manuel Acha was a perfectionist who sought improvement in all of his products. He traveled throughout Europe, exploring distillation and aging methods old and new for tools and techniques he could apply to traditional Basque products and beyond. The family spirit of exploration and innovation did not stop with Manuel. The third-generation, Martín Acha, carried on that legacy of learning from distilling traditions abroad, traveling to Scotland in 1926 to study the craft of malt whisky (an endeavor that wouldn’t come to fruition for generations).

Producer Bio

Five Generations of Innovation

By the late twentieth century, the family business had fallen into disrepair, finding itself directionless, especially amongst changing trends of the 1980s. In 2002, the savvy and charismatic fifth generation, Gabriel Acha, assumed ownership, with a background steeped in Basque cocktail and culinary culture. Ultimately, Gabriel drew inspiration from the legacy of his ancestor, Manuel Acha, in the exploration of new products, techniques, and collaborations, pushing the historic business into new territory. By refocusing on the traditional products that built their reputation, like vermouth and pacharán, Gabi has revived the substantial legacy his great great grandfather began, and has continued to push the envelope of innovation and evolution.

Process & Philosophy

Quality First, and Local Products Forward

The overriding philosophy behind everything produced today at Destilerías Acha starts with careful selection of base materials. Their vermouths are entirely Basque, utilizing the iconic bright and fresh txakoli wines of the region as their base. Working with growers farming organically on 7.5ha of land in the Basque countryside, hondarrabi zuri and beltza grapes are processed and vinified by the distillery to provide fresh quality base wine for their line of Vino Vermouth. The pronounced acidity of these grapes is an integral part of the Acha house character that makes the vermouth and brandy stand far above its competitors.

The same goes for the careful selection of local sloe fruit for pacharán, Basque barley for their gins and whiskies, and heirloom apple varieties for brandy. Driven by the inherently curious and experimental sensibilities of its founder, and creatively focused by the talented distiller Santiago Bronchales, Acha remains sturdily rooted in the Basque region, with a bright future and deep reservoir of history to draw from.

Products

Liqueur

Trabanco Alma de Trabanco Quinquina en Rama

Aperitifs & Digestifs – Asturias, Spain

Inspired by memories of Emilio Trabanco adding cider to his vermouth, Alma de Trabanco is a refreshing aperitif made from a blend of white wine, cider, and botanicals and bottled en rama, or unfiltered, at 15% ABV.

Destilerías Acha Pacharán ‘Sierra de Orduña’

Aperitifs & Digestifs – Basque Country, Spain

A traditional Basque digestif usually enjoyed chilled after dinner, this maceration of the region’s sloe fruit along with aniseed, star anise, and coriander is refreshing, tart, and unmistakable.

Spirits

Destilerías Acha Ibar 3-Year Basque Mountain Whisky

Whisky – Basque Country, Spain

A blended whisky with a subtle, salty, “green” smoke character imparted by smoking the malt over local heather roots.

Destilerías Acha Ibar 8-Year Basque Mountain Whisky

Whisky – Basque Country, Spain

A round, smooth and complex blended whisky with an impressive eight years of gentle aging in the cool, humid cellars of Destilerías Acha.

Destilerías Acha Haran 21-Year Basque Whisky

Whisky – Basque Country, Spain

A true single malt of entirely Basque origin showcasing over two decades of slow aging in freshly charred Iberian oak. Complex, profound and intriguing while comfortably familiar to the high-end malt whisky lover.

Vermouth

Destilerías Acha Vino Vermouth Dry

Dry Vermouth – Basque Country, Spain

A bracing and savory dry vermouth redolent of fresh Basque mountain herbs and bitter citrus peel; a base of hondarrabi zuri is wine fortified and aromatized with botanicals macerated in grape spirit.

Destilerías Acha Vino Vermouth Blanco

Blanc Vermouth – Basque Country, Spain

A bright, citrus and blossom-forward white vermouth that balances subtle fruity sweetness with Acha’s signature green herbal bitterness, from a base of hondarrabi zuri wine fortified and aromatized with botanicals macerated in eau de vie.

Destilerías Acha Vino Vermouth Rojo

Fortified – Basque Country, Spain

A rare instance of a sweet vermouth that incorporates some red txakoli wine into the base, giving notes of stewed red fruits and cherry cola balanced against a backdrop of firm herbal bitterness.