At the World Ski Championships

The empress gets involved with this schnapps

While Willi and his son Roland taste schnapps at the World Ski Championships, his wife looks after the farm.(Bild: urbantschitsch mario)

Willi Huttegger is a traditional mountain farmer and is now a master of high-proof schnapps in Saalbach. The stars and celebrities in Saalbach get to taste all of his passion.

Life on a mountain farm is part of everyday life for Willi Huttegger and his family from Hüttschlag: producing cheese, sausage and milk themselves, running a small farm store, managing an alpine pasture in summer and supplying top gastronomy as an organic farmer.

But the "Steinmannbauer" has also made a name for himself with high-proof spirits. It is no coincidence that Willi Huttegger is currently serving schnapps for celebrities to enjoy during the Ski World Championships.

He has been running his own distillery on his farm for years and meticulously distils fine spirits: gentian, Williams, apricot, raspberry, nut - he sells classic schnapps as well as liqueurs and unusual forest gin.

There are normally 20 varieties, but "only" 14 can be sampled at Home Of Snow(Bild: urbantschitsch mario)

He inherited a very special legitimacy: "I still have the distilling rights from Maria Theresa with the right to purchase. I can buy the fruit, blend it myself, distil it and bottle it," says the trained distiller casually.

The pride and passion behind this can be felt and tasted by the stars at the Home of Snow. Willi is in great demand at the Home of Snow: "Demand is high. Our schnapps is there to be enjoyed. And people really appreciate this offer.