One of the few producers in the world that uses real fruit for liqueur production, Mey Alcoholic Beverages is presenting its renewed liqueur line with the new brand name ‘HARE’ to the approval of the consumer. HARE was created in line with consumer preferences and expectations and is initially being released in 6 flavours.

Hare means “bright lines that appear to be undulating to the eye”, and its fanciful bottle, which blends modernism and exoticism has been imported from France. The inspiration for the design of the mystical image on the Hare bottle was the gaze of the concubine in the Ottoman harem. The colour of the roses on the bottle, a part of the romantic design, changes according to flavour. The number of colours used in the design indicates that the most advanced technique in printing on glass bottles has been used.

Hare is prepared by distilling the alcohol twice, and this characteristic gives it a softer palate. The percentage of real fruit has also been increased from 30 % to 60 %.

The CEO of Mey, Galip Yorgancıoğlu stated that Hare would takes its place among the best liqueurs in the world and that it would be imported to a number of countries through investments in marketing and advertising. Drawing attention to the fact that the liqueur is produced from fresh, fragrant and full-flavoured fruit, grown in their natural environment, Yorgancıoğlu adds: “This method is adopted by only a handful of liqueur producers. Turkey’s geographical environment enables fruit to grow with a high content of aroma. As Mey Alcoholic Beverages, we combine this advantage with technology and experience to produce the best liqueurs.”

Reminding us that the Bilecik Liqueur Distillery began production in 2000, Yorgancıoğlu said: “For 5 years now, the Bilecik Liqueur Distillery has been a very modern plant. This enables a superior production quality. There has been no branding investment in these world class liqueurs up to now, but we shall commit a serious branding and marketing investment to them.”

Yorgancıoğlu also stated that they planned to widen the consumption area of the liqueurs that were produced during the Tekel era and won awards in international competitions and added: “Liqueurs are an indispensable part of Bayrams (national festivals), and we aim to expand their consumption beyond the boundaries of the home. Our liqueurs, with cocktails of a variety of flavours shall take their place in night-life and entertainment too”.

The Bilecik Alcoholic Beverage Distillery uses entirely new technology and has a production capacity of 20 million 500 thousand litres. Beside liqueur, the Bilecik Alcoholic Beverage Distillery produces gin, vermouth and vodka. In the distillery, 8 million litres pure alcohol, 300 tonnes of fruit and various herbs, 1000 tonnes of crystal sugar, 40 million bottles and 2,5 million boxes are used for alcoholic beverage production annually. The annual liqueur production capacity of the Bilecik Alcoholic Beverage Distillery is 2,5 million litres.

The History of Liqueur in Turkey

Liqueur was first produced when fragrant herbs, fruit essences, seeds and spices were added to alcohol which was obtained with the distillation method. At first liqueur was used mostly in medicine and to flavour food, but then it came to be enjoyed on its own for pleasure. The entry of liqueur into Turkey became possible in the 1930’s. Following the founding of the Republic, a liqueur distillery was established in İstanbul Mecidiyeköy with the guidance of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Yet, when it was deemed difficult to extend the plant in Mecidiyeköy, the distillery had to be moved to another area. So in 2000, Turkey’s only modern liqueur distillery began production in Bilecik.