Lioko

Beer is delicious, of course. But even at the beginning of our studies, no flat-sharing party was complete without our homemade tomato schnapps. There were plenty of these parties when we, the five friends, were standing on the Hamburger Berg one evening at the beginning of our studies. Because that's exactly where we had the idea to share the tomato schnapps with more people than just our friends.

Our secret recipe already tasted so deliciously spicy. We had refined and improved it over and over again, tweaked and honed it. But how to bottle it to be served later in our favorite bars? The WG kitchen couldn't answer that question.

No money in our pockets, let alone in the bank, our own bottling plant was out of the question. We finally got help from a small cidery in the middle of Hamburg. We were allowed to pay off the filled bottles by pressing apples into juice for days on end. So we learned almost as much about apples as we did about tomatoes and chilies and saved the money we didn't have. It was finally at a WG party in Wilhelmsburg that we proudly presented the first bottles of our Lioko Mexican. L-I-O-K-O, five letters should stand for the five friends who once founded Lioko.

In the meantime, the fan community of our Lioko Mexican has grown far beyond Hamburg's borders. From Copenhagen to Vienna and from Amsterdam to Berlin, party people are happy about Lioko Mexican. Today, more and more hardworking people make sure that this is possible. As in the early days, it is important for us to remain independent. Independent from industry giants, investors, banks and the like. Lioko is still founder-managed today and sees itself as the Asterix on the spirits shelf, surrounded by global player brands.

Ultimately, we as the Lioko team want to be like our Lioko Mexican: unadjusted and honestly different - "mouth fireworks instead of sugar flash".