Konig's Westphalian Gin

[1] By an edict of 1688, the "Great Elector" Frederick William of Brandenburg, in his capacity as Count of Ravensberg, granted the inhabitants of Steinhagen the exclusive privilege to distil alcohol and the area is still known for its Steinhäger gins (wacholder),[2][3][4] distilled from crushed, fermented, juniper berries[5] from the bushes of that plant that grow on the slopes of the nearby Teutoburg Forest.

[1] Its advertising included the obviously spurious claim that it was "highly recommended by all doctors against kidney, bladder and stomach troubles and especially for cholera, malaria and typhus".

[1] In common with other contemporary gins,[7] König's was sold in tall stoneware (steingut) bottles, and Konig's was given a red seal in an attempt to make it distinctive.

Konig's gin has been marketed in Germany as "Steinhäger-Urquell" ("urquell" translates as "original source" or "wellspring", as with the beer Pilsner Urquell), in an effort to establish a claim as the original and authentic Steinhäger gin.

[1] König boasted that the spirit had over 250 Grand Prix and gold medals from trade fairs.