Zwack is one of Hungary’s most famous names. The Zwack family has been making the herbal liqueur Unicum since 1790, supposedly from a recipe with which Dr. Zwack cured the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. “Das ist ein Unikum!” (“This is a unique thing!”), he is said to have exclaimed. Made from more than forty herbs, Unicum is still a national emblem, a true Hungaricum.
The family’s story is a deeply Hungarian one. During the Second World War and the communist era the family fled the country; Péter Zwack lived in exile in the USA and Italy, while the state produced a fake Unicum from a false recipe. The real recipe stayed with the family. After 1989 Péter Zwack returned and rebuilt the company. Today the tradition continues with new expressions such as Unicum Riserva and Unicum Plum.