House of Unicum

Zwack József and Partner Hungarian Royal Liqueur, Rum and Vinegar Distillery is an old Budapest spirits facility, which today operates under the ownership of Zwack Unicum Plc. as Unicum House (Zwack Unicum Museum and Visitor Center).

History

The founding of the Zwack factory is linked to the name of Zwack József, who in 1840 (according to other sources in 1847) opened his liqueur factory in Pest, in the Marokkó courtyard (today's Erzsébet Square), to exploit economic opportunities arising from changes in distillation regulations. Production quickly took off and the catalogue of the 1855 Budapest National General Exhibition already reported a respectable industry, employment of 22 workers and exports worth 20–30 thousand forints. A little later they also received feedback on the good quality of the products from consumers: at the world exhibitions held between 1880 and 1885 Zwack products won two gold medals and several honorary distinctions. In 1881 they registered their first trademark‑protected liqueur, the Kincsem liqueur, named with considerable marketing sense after the era’s “wonder horse”. Two years later their new Unicum bitter liqueur also received patent protection.

In 1866 Zwack József’s brother Maximilian entered the business and the company thereafter continued to operate under the name Zwack József and Partner Liqueur, Rum, and Eczetessentia Factory.

In 1892 the company outgrew its previous premises and moved to the Danube banks, to the modern Zwack plant on Soroksári Road, which still houses production today. At that time the company adopted the name Zwack J. and Tsai, because the founder József Zwack’s brother Miksa and his son Lajos also entered the business. By the turn of the century the company had become a Europe‑renowned liqueur producer, conducted a prestigious business and, thanks to tasteful marketing work (see the spherical bottle and the legendary poster), made Unicum the best‑known product produced in the largest quantities. Development was relentless. In 1914 the third Zwack generation also entered the business: Béla, the eldest son of Lajos Zwack, became a partner, while the younger Zwack grandson, János, joined the company in 1926. The founder József Zwack died in 1915. Between the two wars the plant produced about 220 different drinks, and the Zwack brand became a solid‑footed, famous, high‑quality product family.

The turning point was the Second World War. Due to shortages and a declining demand, a 1944 bombing caused irreparable damage, the plant suffered severe destruction. Production restarted in 1945 in the two intact rooms of the ruined factory and reconstruction began. In 1948 nationalisation also affected Zwack, which had meanwhile been completely restored; the factory was taken from its owners without compensation. After nationalisation the plant operated independently for a while, then it was merged into the Hungarian Liqueur Industry Company established in 1961, becoming one of its five units. The product range was completely transformed, but Unicum, or St. Hubertus, continued to be produced. The Zwack family, which had emigrated to America and then Italy, meanwhile exercised the brand rights and the state-owned factory could not sell the flagship product outside Hungary, the Zwack Unicum, under that name. The Unicum bitter liqueur produced without the Zwack name, based on a false recipe, was sold only on the domestic market, creating the odd situation that while the Zwack brand ceased to exist in Hungary, its flagship products continued the domestic tradition. A little later, in 1981, the former Zwack factory on Soroksári Street separated from the Hungarian Liqueur Industry Company and the independent Budapest Liqueur Industry Company (BULIV) was established.

The original brand was revived in the mid‑1960s by the two emigrated Zwack brothers, Béla and János, when they founded a plant in Milan and began production based on the old recipes. In 1970 the fourth generation also entered the business, Peter Zwack (son of János Zwack, great‑grandson of founder József Zwack) became a partner. In 1986 he then signed a licensing agreement with Gürtler AG, belonging to the Undenberg interest, for the production of Zwack liqueurs, which expanded the business. At the time of the regime change, among the former large‑scale entrepreneurs Peter Zwack was the first to return home and shortly thereafter founded Zwack Unicum Budapest Ltd. together with Undenberg, which began operating in the BULIV and the former Zwack factory site. In 1991 the entire BULIV was privatized – also together with Undenberg – and Zwack Unicum Plc was established. The company, later also listed on the stock exchange, now operates in the form of a public limited company. In the decades since the regime change, through vigorous marketing work Zwack again became a solid brand, producing drinks based on numerous traditional recipes and other new recipes. In recognition of the development of its brand identity, Unicum became a member of the Superbrands group in 2009, which compiles famous, well‑known brands.