When people think of Augusta, Georgia, the Master's golf tournament dominates their mind. But long before golf, Fruitland Nurseries was one of the agricultural meccas of the South. In the 1800s, the nursery planted thousands of peach trees, putting Augusta on the map for its Georgia peaches. Ironically, the "father of the peach culture" was Prosper Jules (PJ) Alphonse Berckmans, a Belgian immigrant who became owner of Fruitland in 1857.
From that point onward, Fruitland’s Georgia peaches made a name for themselves.
- 1858: The first Georgia peaches were shipped to the New York market
- 1861: Over 300 varieties of peaches were being harvested in Augusta, including Chinese Cling, Elberta and Thurber.
- 1876: PJ Berckmans founded the Georgia State Horticulture Society
- 1880s: Fruitland Nurseries was shipping out more than 25,000 catalogues internationally to sell their Georgia peaches.
- 1912: PJ Berckmans' two sons sold Fruitland after PJ passed away, in the largest peach deal ever made in Georgia, for more than $100,000.
- 1931: The property was sold and became the Augusta National Golf Club, which it remains today.
And just in time for National Peach Month,
peaches are making a return to Georgia, this time in the form of a Georgia Peach Vodka and Georgia Peach Sweet Tea.
"We spent countless hours of research on Georgia peaches, and that led us to this history of Augusta and Fruitland Nurseries," said sales director Yuri Kato. "Fruitland and Berckman's history was so special, it just made sense to bring it back."
Vodka is still the number one selling spirit category in America and it has to be neutral by law, so the team behind Fruitland Augusta felt like it would be the best way to highlight Georgia peaches.
"When we developed the flavor profile, I didn't want anything but peaches to come through," said Kato, who spent four years with her team developing the product. It was Kato who developed the formula for the vodka, and it was then tested by chemists. "Usually other spirits have notes of vanilla, mint, because they are trying to sell the lifestyle. But you just smell and taste peaches in our liquor."
The formula had to be submitted in order to label the liquor as "Georgia Peach" vodka. Fruitland Augusta sources their peaches from a variety of farms around Georgia, including Carroll Farms, Pearson Farms, and Lane Southern Orchards. Peaches are selected ripe and the juices are extracted, and real cane sugar is used as the sweetener.
Fruitland Augusta’s Georgia peach liquor launched on August 1 in Atlanta, and can be found at liquor stores like Green’s and Tower.
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