Arno Weger

"There is magic in every beginning" - says a famous poem by Hermann Hesse. If you know Arno Weger from Bach, you will also understand how to interpret this verse. Because every beginning of a project holds chances, but also the uncertainty about its outcome. That the project to create their own gin will be so successful, Arno and his son-in-law Gerhard would not have imagined about 4 years ago. "When we started to deal with the production of gin, a certain naivety played a role.

At first, it was definitely a vision and a dream castle. We started with a small table distillery and have tasted and experimented for a whole 3 years until we were completely convinced of the final result" - Arno recalls the common beginnings. Today, this gin and the heart project of Arno and his family is called "Beavers & Angels" - a Handcrafted Original Lechtal Dry Gin which was recently awarded by Falstaff with a whole 93 points, as "excellent" and thus also the best gin in Tyrol and the second best gin in Austria.

Simone Knitel_Lechtal natural handicraft

But anyone who thinks that Arno is "only" concerned with the production of gin is mistaken. Another project is his recently published crime novel "A Picture Postcard from Frankfurt." "The 280-page crime novel was born out of a bet with the children and was actually intended as an incentive to my daughter and son-in-law to finally write a book" - Arno smiles and he recalls further: "In the end, I gathered my ideas for a crime novel and during a long train ride to Berlin, started writing. But several months passed before I gave the novel to my daughter and son-in-law to read. I had my doubts and did not want to give myself the nerve. However, contrary to my expectations, they both liked the story and offered to proofread the novel and initially publish it with an online publishing house - which I of course accepted with thanks. - Arno continues.

Arno is a family man through and through. With his wife Andrea he has built a house in Bach, he has two grandchildren and loves to spend his free time with the whole family. He is reliable and always there when you need him - so he also likes to go to Vienna for a weekend now and then to feed his daughter's cats. "Just lying on the beach for days on end and living into the day - I can't do that. I need something to read - that's the least. A week's vacation at the seaside on a beach lounger would definitely be out of the question for the native Styrian. After two days at the latest, I have to do something, visit a museum and see the area," he explains in our conversation. Arno is a driven but not restless person. Just being lazy is simply not his thing. He likes to be active and finds his balance not only in writing, reading and gin making but also in music or on the tennis court. "I also love just walking or biking through nature. But when I'm out walking anyway, I often collect the herbs and botanicals for our gin right away."

Arno has fully arrived here in the Lechtal as a "Zuagroaster". For many years he was the bandmaster of the Musikkapelle Bach and since March of this year he has also been active in the municipal council of his home community. "I feel comfortable here and am integrated in our community and also in the valley. Contentment is the basis for a happy life and my heart lies here in the Lechtal. Of course, I also like to go back to my old home - to Styria, where I still have family and friends. But in the Lech Valley I am now at home and I would not want to live anywhere else" - emphasizes Arno. If you ask him what he particularly appreciates about the Lech Valley, he quickly answers that it is the honesty and authenticity of the region. "Here, nothing is staged and compulsively artificial. The Lech Valley is the way it is and I like this "earthy" and "rustic" feeling that you find in the valley at every turn.

That's probably why you can taste exactly these notes from his "Beaver & Angel Gin". Because the wild-growing botanicals, such as the main ingredients of beaver, angelica and juniper, give this witty small-batch gin a strong yet fresh aroma that captures the scent and energy of the Lech Valley.

After about 33 years in Tyrol and in the Lech Valley, Arno has also seen many trends in tourism come and go. He has always followed the economic and also tourism development and he comes to the conclusion that the Lechtal has developed "thank God" in the right direction in all these years. "It has been understood that "less is more". The departure from the constant "higher-faster-further" is a counter-trend that is honestly implemented in the Lech Valley. There were also times when many in the Lech Valley thought they had slept through the true tourism trends. The awareness and the insight that we haven't slept through anything at all has now finally arrived in the minds of the people of Lechtal. That makes me happy. Here in the Lechtal, there is room for everyone - genuine tourists as well as locals without a background in tourism" - Arno notes with satisfaction.

Many years ago, like many other "Zuagroaste", Arno made a conscious decision to live in the Lechtal. He has created his own home for himself and his family, launched successful and creative projects and continues to actively shape his home community. In short: Arno leaves his mark on the Lech Valley every day and we are very happy to have a mastermind of gin production in the Lech Valley. ... and who knows - maybe he will become the "John Grisham" of the Alps... .