Top 10 Distilleries in Czechia
Czechia has a distillation tradition rooted in the fruit orchards of Moravia and the herbal landscapes of Bohemia. The country's most historically significant spirit is slivovitz — plum brandy, produced from Prunus domestica varieties grown in the Zlín, Uherské Hradiště, and surrounding Moravian districts — a spirit that has been part of central European peasant and bourgeois culture for centuries. Alongside slivovitz, Czechia produces a remarkable range of spirits: Becherovka, the herbal bitters from Karlovy Vary that has achieved genuine international recognition; various fruit brandies from apricot, pear, and cherry; and a growing wave of craft gin and whisky producers who are bringing modern distillery culture to a country with an enthusiastic consumer base.
Czech drinking culture is most famously associated with beer — Czech lagers have influenced brewing worldwide — but the spirits tradition runs deep in rural areas and is experiencing a renaissance among urban consumers. Browse the map to find distilleries from the Moravian wine country in the south to the spa towns and mountain valleys of northern Bohemia.
1. Jan Becher, Karlovy Vary, Bohemia
Jan Becher is the maker of Becherovka, arguably the most internationally recognised Czech spirit and the product most directly responsible for giving Czechia a presence in the global spirits conversation. Becherovka was first produced in 1807 by Josef Vitus Becher and Johann Becher, who initially marketed it as a medicinal digestive. The recipe — which reportedly involves approximately twenty herbs and spices in a secret formula maintained by very few individuals at any one time — has remained consistent for over two centuries. The spirit is matured in oak vats in the Jan Becher cellars in Karlovy Vary's historic spa district. The distillery is now owned by Pernod Ricard but continues to produce exclusively in Karlovy Vary using the original process.
2. Rudolf Jelínek, Vizovice, Zlín Region
Rudolf Jelínek is Czechia's most famous slivovitz producer and the distillery most responsible for bringing Moravian plum brandy to international attention. Founded in 1894 in Vizovice in the foothills of the Outer Western Carpathians, the distillery uses locally grown Damson plums that are fermented with their stones — releasing benzaldehyde compounds that give authentic slivovitz its characteristic almond and marzipan notes alongside the core plum fruit. Jelínek produces both young unaged slivovitz and oak-aged expressions, the finest of which achieve a richness and complexity comparable to armagnac. The distillery also produces pear and apricot brandies and has invested in a substantial visitor centre.
3. Žufánek, Boršice u Blatnice, South Moravia
Žufánek is Czechia's most celebrated craft distillery and an operation that has attracted international attention far beyond its modest production volumes. Founded by Martin Žufánek, a former architect who retrained as a distiller, the operation in Boršice u Blatnice produces an extraordinary range: slivovitz, Williams pear brandy, absinthe, gin, rum, and vodka, all made with obsessive attention to raw material quality and production transparency. Žufánek's absinthe in particular has been recognised by absintheurs worldwide as among the finest produced anywhere. The distillery operates a waiting list for many releases and is a must-visit for anyone serious about Czech spirits.
4. Stock Spirits Group, Plzeň and Multiple Locations
Stock Spirits is a major Czech and central European spirits producer with origins in the early twentieth century. The company produces a wide range of mainstream spirits including Amundsen vodka, Fernet Stock (a bitter herbal digestif modelled on the Italian bitter tradition and enormously popular in Czech and Slovak culture), and various domestic brandy and fruit spirit brands. While Stock does not have the artisanal prestige of smaller producers, its Fernet Stock is a genuine cultural institution in Czechia, consumed in a distinctive way — often ordered as a shot with tonic water, known as Beton (concrete), in Czech pubs and bars.
5. Palírna U Zeleného Stromu, Prague
The Green Tree Distillery (Palírna U Zeleného Stromu) is one of Prague's few functioning traditional distilleries and produces a range of fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, and specialty spirits sold through its own shop in the city centre. The operation is small and deliberately artisanal, sourcing fruit from Moravian orchards and using traditional copper pot still equipment. The distillery's location in Prague makes it the most accessible for international visitors arriving in the Czech capital, and the shop regularly draws spirits enthusiasts looking for authentic Czech alternatives to the Becherovka and slivovitz available in any tourist shop.
6. Distillery Hills, Jihočeský Kraj (South Bohemia)
Hills is a Czech craft gin producer that has established itself as one of the country's most innovative spirits brands. The distillery uses botanical sourcing from the Šumava (Bohemian Forest) region, incorporating spruce tips, forest berries, and various wild herbs alongside classic gin botanicals. The result is a gin with a distinctly central European character — resinous, herbal, and fresh rather than citrus-forward in the way of many contemporary London Dry styles. Hills has achieved distribution across the Czech Republic and into neighbouring Austria and Germany, making it one of the more successful Czech craft spirit export stories.
7. Starorežná Prostějov, Prostějov, Olomouc Region
Starorežná Prostějov is the producer of Old Regime (Starorežná) slivovitz and fruit brandies, a brand with roots in the Prostějov region of Moravia since the late nineteenth century. The distillery's output is primarily focused on the Czech domestic market, where Starorežná is a recognisable name associated with traditional quality. The core products are made from Damson plums grown in Moravia and distilled in copper pot stills, with the aged expressions spending time in Slavonian oak. Starorežná Prostějov represents the mainstream face of Czech slivovitz production — reliable, consistent, and deeply embedded in local food and hospitality culture.
8. Fruko-Schulz, Jeseník, Olomouc Region
Fruko-Schulz is a significant Czech spirits producer best known for its Tuzemák (Czech domestic rum) — a spirit produced from sugar beet rather than sugarcane, with added rum essence, that occupies a legal category specific to Czech and Slovak regulation. Tuzemák has been part of Czech baking and confectionery culture for over a century and is used in traditional rum balls, pastries, and desserts. The distillery also produces more conventional spirits including fruit brandies, and has begun investing in quality improvements and rebranding to appeal to younger consumers who are rediscovering traditional Czech spirits with a contemporary perspective.
9. Destilerie Svach, Písek, South Bohemia
Destilerie Svach is a South Bohemian producer with a strong reputation for fruit spirits and a particular emphasis on pear brandy (Williams) and apple spirits made from the diverse traditional orchards of the Písek region. The distillery cooperates directly with local fruit growers, processing fruit at peak ripeness to capture aromatic freshness in the distillate. Svach has won awards at central European fruit spirit competitions and is recognised among specialist Czech spirits retailers as a benchmark producer for quality orchard fruit brandies. Distribution is primarily domestic but select expressions have been exported to Austria and Germany.
10. Sázava Distillery, Středočeský Kraj (Central Bohemia)
Sázava represents a newer generation of Czech craft distillers, established in the Sázava River valley of Central Bohemia with a focus on single malt whisky production. The distillery uses domestically malted barley and spring water from the Bohemian plateau and ages spirit in a combination of new American oak and ex-bourbon casks. The Czech climate, with cold winters and warm summers, creates a relatively dynamic ageing environment that drives flavour development more quickly than the cool conditions of Scottish warehouses. Early releases from Sázava and similar Czech whisky producers suggest a light, grain-forward style that reflects both the quality of the local raw materials and the distinctive Czech climate.