Westphalia is one of the granaries of Germany and the art of distilling grain spirits (called "Korn" in German) can be traced back for more than half a millennium in this German region.

It was in 1483 when a doctor called Michael Schrick wrote that:

"half a spoon of Korn every morning will preserve you from illness"

Schwarze has been at the forefront of distillation of Korn since its foundation in 1664 in Oelde as "Friedr. Schwarze Westfälische Kornbrennerei".

The company has remained a family enterprise until today and is now one of the biggest Korn distilleries in the country.

At the time of its foundation Schwarze was exclusively committed to the distillation of grain spirit. In the course of history Schwarze extended its programme creating popular spirits and liqueurs like herbal bitters, fruit liqueurs, grape brandy, etc., however, Korn is still the most important product in the range and, because of its outstanding quality, Schwarze Korn is the leader in this important market segment in North Rhine-Westphalia.

In order to secure further development, Schwarze has bought other German liquor companies and brands since the early 90es. The most important acquisition were the Schlichte brands together with production facilities in Steinhagen.

Thus Schwarze has developed to the Schwarze Group.

Today the Schwarze Group is producing in two destilleries in Oelde and in Steinhagen.

Schwarze & Schlichte Markenvertrieb GmbH & Co. is the marketing company responsible for the distribution of the company's programme in the domestic as well as in the export markets.Schwarze & Schlichte products are exported to approximately 30 countries around the world.