In the picturesque Moravian village of Žešov, near Prostějov, Růžena and Jan Kleiner began their journey by firing up their first batches of fruit mash in an old community distillery. At that time, the fruit they used often came from windfalls—bruised and hastily collected, unsorted and ungraded. Yet, with dedication and skill, they managed to process 900,000 liters of mash every year, serving more than 6,000 customers.
During those early years, they started to dream of something more—of a spirit crafted from perfectly ripe, handpicked, single-variety fruit, harvested directly from the tree. They imagined an exceptional process: fermentation lasting months instead of weeks, followed by distillation performed with surgical precision.
Five years later, in 2007, Distillery Kleiner proudly appeared on the map of Moravian distillers—an ultra-premium brand redefining the tradition and heritage of Haná’s craft distilling.