How the taste of the region is born: GALLI DISTILLERY and a new cherry gin liqueur for Ridge Trail by Bohemian Switzerland

Jitka Schneiderová

20.10.2025

When we think of Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland, most of us think of breathtaking rocky scenery, endless views and the long-distance Hřebenovka route. But who would have expected that this region could also be associated with a unique taste experience? That is exactly what the family distillery GALLI DISTILLERY from Dolní Podluží, which produces handmade spirits and liqueurs from the best ingredients, has managed to do. Owners Radka and Zdeněk Kohout accepted the challenge to create a special drink as Ridge Trail merch – and the result is the original Cherry Gin Liqueur 25%. We bring you an interview with Zdeněk Kohout, who told us about the establishment of the distillery, the production process and the creation of the liqueur for Ridge Trail.

Mr. Kohout, introduce us to GALLI DISTILLERY, what does it do?

We are a family-run craft distillery founded in 2019, continuing the 15-year tradition of distilling in Dolní Podluží in the Lusatian Mountains. My wife Radka and I produce fruit spirits, fruit spirits aged in oak barrels, draft spirits and liqueurs.
Our products include, for example, SLIVOVICE 50%, PEAR WINE 45%, GINGER LIQUEUR 35%, LUSANIC HERBAL 25%, GALLI’S GIN 45%, etc. Our products are created by distillation, maceration and other processes, which we choose so that the resulting product is the best “folk medicine”. They are 100% natural, without the use of artificial dyes, aromas and flavorings.

How did you come up with the idea of starting your own distillery?

The idea to establish a fruit distillery arose in 2018, when we reached a milestone in our lives and were addressing the question of what we still wanted to achieve in life and where we wanted to direct our lives. For many years, we worked in corporate companies in management positions and reached a point where we needed to make a change in our lives. Radka’s father (Lubomír Pifka) ran a grower’s distillery in Dolní Podluží for 15 years and was considering passing on the craft to the younger generation. We toyed with this idea, but we were tempted to create something of our own and the idea of establishing a craft family distillery came to us. In addition to operating a grower’s distillery, which is only a service for fruit growers, we started building our own brand GALLI DISTILLERY. In 2019, we founded a company, took over the grower’s distilling service in full and started to process all the necessary permits for operating a fruit distillery.

Did you have experience with distillation before founding the distillery, or was it a completely new chapter in your life?

The distillery is a completely new chapter in life for Radka and me, however, before establishing the distillery, we had the opportunity to work in a grower’s distillery, try out the fruit processing process, produce fruit distillates and test recipes for future liqueurs. However, we gradually added to our knowledge and continue to strive to develop and expand our product portfolio.

What do you enjoy and find most fulfilling about making spirits and liqueurs?

It is the entire production process, starting with choosing what we are going to produce, through sourcing fresh fruit for distillates, selecting ingredients for liqueurs, the distillation itself, tasting samples of distillates or liqueurs, and finally selling. It is a truly diverse combination of activities that change throughout the season.

How would you describe your brand philosophy – what makes your products special?

Everything we produce is made without the use of artificial dyes, aromas and flavourings, so you will not find any “enhanced” flavours and colours in our products. Therefore, you may encounter sediment in liqueurs, or a slightly different colour of the resulting product in different batches. The flavours of fruit distillates may also vary slightly depending on the harvest of individual types of fruit and varieties that we purchase. The second, essential attribute for us, is the purchase of fruit, generally raw materials, from Czech orchardists, growers and other suppliers, i.e. where it is possible and possible and sustainable for us. We also try to develop our region in which we live, to cooperate with local businesses that are interested in this, so for example we work closely with the Kocour Varnsdorf Brewery, with whom we have a very close cooperation, we produce beer distillates together. For our liqueurs and gins, we have tuned Tonik for drink lovers with the Kocour Brewery. Furthermore, with you as with Bohemian Switzerland, the aforementioned product Cherry Gin Liqueur was created. We are also trying to develop cross-border cooperation within the Lusatian Mountains. The year before last, we started cooperation with quince growers in Ebersbach and we are very much looking forward to further developing our cooperation. These are actually challenges that we enjoy and why we founded a craft distillery.

Where do you get your fruit and herbs from – do you prefer local ingredients?

As mentioned in the previous answer, we buy fruit from Czech orchardists and growers, but we try to target regional suppliers, which for us is the Litoměřice region, where there are orchardists who can satisfy our needs for our standard and permanent product portfolio, by which I mean several tons of various fruits. At the very beginning of our existence, we had the intention of growing and drying some herbs, mainly for our Lužická Bylinná 25%, but we have not been able to do this yet due to time constraints, so we are betting on herbs from the company Valdemar Grešík – NATURA s.r.o. from Děčín.

Do you have a product that you are particularly proud of?

There are more of these products, but if we had to choose the BEST, then GINGER LIQUEUR 35%, with which we won the Regional Product of the Ústí nad Labem Region award this year, SLIVOVICE 50% and HRUŠKOVICE 45%, which found their way to various bars and restaurants in our region, Prague and other cities. Then there is the limited edition 2024 Renet 43%, (which is almost a real Calvados, but the apples for its production are local), which we produced together with BBCidre and which won a gold medal in the Apple Cider category last year and a silver medal in the barrel-aged brandy category at the Pálenka roku 2024 competition.

We approached you to participate in the creation of new merch for the long-distance route “The Ridge Trail through Bohemian Switzerland”, specifically to come up with a liqueur for it. Was it a challenge for you? And how did you choose the right one for Ridge Trail?

It was definitely a challenge, but we’re a craft distillery, so we’re not averse to projects like this at all, and it’s been fun for us. At the very beginning, they considered schnapps, specifically pine, but after clarifying who the product should appeal to, a proposal was made to produce a combination of pine, or rather gin, and some fruit component. In the end, we narrowed down the selection to black elder, raspberries and sour cherries, which were used to make samples of the future liqueur.

Why did you choose cherry gin liqueur? How would you describe the resulting Cherry Gin Liqueur – taste, aroma, who is it intended for?

Gin is actually a “better” pine gin, supplemented with other botanicals and because our GALLIS GIN is very aromatic, we chose gin with sour cherry juice and sweetened it. The result is a rich, sweet and sour liqueur with a deep fruity aroma, ideal for drinking on its own, in cocktails or as an unconventional digestif. It is intended for the general public, hikers, tourists and all visitors to the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, however over 18 years of age.

How did the recipe develop – was it more of a quick decision or a long process of fine-tuning the flavors?

Each new product development involves the production of several, gradually about 10 to 20, different samples, which of course have to be tasted and evaluated, and in this case it was about 10 samples, with the fact that we adjusted the appropriate ratio between aromatic gin, sour cherries and sugar solution so that the individual flavors optimally connect and complement each other. The whole thing took about a month.

What does it mean to you personally that your product will function as long-haul merch?

For us, this means a seal of trust from you, the customer, confirmation that what we do is done right and has potential for the future.

What are your other plans for the future – are you planning new products or collaborations?

Last year we bought boxwood, originating from the Czech Central Mountains, and this year pineapple, which is of course not regional, let alone Czech, but it will certainly be interesting to taste Oskerušovice and the exotic Ananasovice in the future. We also want to start producing Whiskey, and we have negotiated a collaboration to produce gin for a Czech customer who is still preparing the entire project, so I can’t be too specific at the moment.

If readers wanted to buy your products, where would they find them?

Customers can purchase our products in multiple locations, both in brick-and-mortar stores and in various online stores, however, Cherry Gin Liqueur 25%, which we produced exclusively for České Švýcarsko, o.p.s., can only be purchased at the House of Bohemian Switzerland in Krásná Lípa.