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Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery: A pioneer in farm-to-flask distilling

Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery is an original craft distillery in British Columbia (BC) in Western Canada and is run by the Dyck family, who have been at home in the Okanagan Valley for five generations. The distillery was born from the idea of using 100% locally grown fruit and grain to produce world-class spirits, just a tractor ride away from the orchards and fields where the base ingredients grow. BC’s original farm-to-flask distillery now offers a selection of more than 50 internationally award-winning spirits, from single malts, BRBN bourbon-style, BC hopped and BC rye whiskies to gins, vodkas, fruit liqueurs, brandies, aquavit and even Taboo Genuine Absinthe.

Okanagan Spirits is led by Tyler Dyck, CEO of the Dyck family company, and Melissa Duncan, COO. When they’re not making world-class spirits, they spend their time modernising spirits policy in Canada. Their aim is to honour and support authenticity and terroir in everything they do – from farm to bottle. The passion, skill and creativity of master distillers Chris Burke and Francois Joubert are behind the successful variety of products and the absolute commitment to capturing the essence of the Okanagan Valley in every bottle. A visit to one of the distilleries is an unmissable experience when visiting the Okanagan Valley.

The World Class Distillery 2025 received Gold for Okanagan Cherry Liqueur, Okanagan Spirits Haskap Liqueur, Blackcurrant Liqueur 100% Craft, various single malt whiskies (1-MALT Barrelhouse Reserve, Laird of Fintry Rum Barrel Finish, Laird of Fintry Fortified Foch Finish, Laird of Fintry Fortified Foch Finish Cask Strength, Orchard Saison Whisky), Proof Whisky Collective Pear Brandy Barrel Aged, Bartlett Pear Brandy (Poire Williams), Proof Whisky Collective Pioneer Country Process and the cigar whisky Product of Okanagan Valley, Canada. Silver was awarded to Okanagan Spirits Raspberry Liqueur, Road’s End (a double-wood Pinot Noir finished bourbon-style whisky), Rye Whisky (finished in Maple-Brûlée casks), Amaro Classico 100% Craft and Cabin Gin (Green Label) 100% Craft.

Rossbacher: The herb liqueur from Vienna

A. Wunderlich founded a liqueur factory in Vienna in 1897 at just 19 years of age, and composed the herb speciality, Rossbacher, which went on to have an unrivalled success story. Specially selected herbs, roots and berries are carefully processed using the handed-down recipe – the exact composition is a well-guarded secret.

A long process involving three separate procedures is employed to extract the precious content from the raw materials: essences and flavours are extracted through maceration while the herbs, roots and berries are soaked in an alcohol and water mixture. During the percolation process, this mixture is dripped through the herbs. Copper vats are then heated using steam during the distillation process so that the alcohol and herb flavours evaporate and then become fluid again during the cooling process.

The unique taste of Rossbacher reflects a traditional Austrian product which meets the latest trends in drinks: with its intense herb flavours and subtle sweetness, Rossbacher can either be served neat or with ice, lemon, tonic or soda water.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Rossbacher.

Jim Beam Distillery – Bourbon straight on

Knob Creek is named after a rivulet in Kentucky, the home of President Abraham Lincoln. His steadfast attitude seems to serve as an example for this straightforward bourbon. The square ‘chemist’s bottle’ suits these traditional values perfectly, as does the striking label which is reminiscent of the old tradition of wrapping bottles in newspaper. To this day, a mixture of experience and craftsmanship is the recipe for success for the bourbon from Knob Creek.

The bourbon was at the peak of its success in 1919, when the nationwide prohibition of the sale, manufacture and transport of alcohol began – lasting until 1933. Following this, a new start was impossible for many distilleries; others couldn’t finance the customary long maturing process of the bourbon. This situation motivated Booker Noe to revive the traditional bourbon style from the time before the prohibition: rich in aroma, with discreet sweetness due to year-long maturation in strongly ‘toasted’ wooden barrels from American white oak. In 1950, he joined the family business – his mother was the daughter of Jim Beam, which meant bourbon was already in his blood – and completed his training as Master Distiller. With the small series of premium bourbon he launched, the term ‘batch’ (small) was established and revolutionised the industry. His son, Fred Noe, continues with this clear strategy: “I learnt the business from scratch, listened to my father and learnt on the job. I know what it means to make perfect bourbon. Each bottle is a reflection of my family.” Since 1992, the Knob Creek brand has represented these values with the perfect combination of tradition and top quality.

A golden trio was successful at the World Spirits Award: Knob Creek Rye Whiskey Small Batch, Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon and Knob Creek Straight Bourbon.

Luding Group: Vodka Tchaikovsky as a high-spirited homage to the famous composer

At the beginning of the 1990s, the modern distillery ‘Fortuna’ was launched in a green field in the south of Russia – in the Krasnodar region, a strip of land with spa resorts and health centres. The distillery has specialised in unusual products, in a region with a particularly green fingerprint. The vodka created in honour of the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky is special. The concept for this exceptional product is comparable with one of his musical scores: the work ‘Swan Lake’ served as an inspiration. Art enthusiasts can thus immerse themselves in the history of Russian estate life in the 19th century. The traditional white and blue colours underline the purity of this vodka.

The technical particularities span a wide quality-orientated spectrum: from the selected wheat, their own well water and the special treatment of the distillate with skimmed milk powder to the crystal-clear filtration with active birch coal. With so much perfectionism and monitoring of the individual production steps, the result is an especially gentle, animating and very typical vodka based on wheat. After the diluting of alcohol and pure distillate, the production process is continued with maturation in steel tanks. The aim is to ‘wed’ both ‘waters’, resulting in an especially harmonious vodka.

At the World Spirits Award 2022, Vodka Tchaikovsky was awarded double gold and honoured as the best vodka with the title ‘Spirit of the Year’.