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Leardini Liquori Artigianali – When fairytales come true

The Leardini family flies the flag when it comes to persisting at keeping old production techniques alive and taking the time to allow nature to take its course. This is neither nostalgia nor fanaticism, but experience and a dash of craziness in the face of an ‘everything now’ mentality in our fast-moving age. For this reason, the traditional, limited-production liqueurs contain neither artificial flavourings nor colours.

Everything began four generations ago, as the young Domenico, a skilled shoemaker, moved away from San Leo in the historical Montefeltro region to try his luck in Switzerland. There he fell in love with a girl with blond plaits, called Barruell. She made sure there was always enough schnapps in the cold workroom, and every now and then she would ‘forget’ a bottle of his favourite liqueur there. The young man only spent one winter in Switzerland, as his family needed him. When he returned to San Leo, he discovered the recipe for the liqueur in his jacket pocket, which Barruell had slipped in when saying goodbye. As an old man, he told his nephews that the liqueur had the fragrance of the girl’s lips. “Call it Barruell”, he said to his son Antonio, and gave him the recipe. After the war, Antonio’s son, Leonardo, decided to try to make a small amount to earn a living – in 1958, he produced 25 litres of alcohol, but things got better and better. Until the age of 87 he dedicated himself to the production of liqueur, and wanted his nephew Mauro to carry on the old tradition which he had followed over 60 years. Mauro complied with his wish and resumed production in the small workshop as his uncle Leonardo had done – and Barruell is still around today ...

The First Class Distillery 2018 received gold for Sambuca, Elixir Espresso Italiano, silver for Ariminum and Eremus, and bronze for Barruell.

Spice Island Distilling Co: Gin from the Spice Islands

Centuries ago, many spices were more valuable than gold and reserved just for the social elite in Europe. The Silk Road became inaccessible during the Crusades. Then the Age of Discovery began and soon European ships were navigating the treacherous ocean south of Africa and regaining access to the Spice Islands.

Indonesia is a paradise for distillers, home to around ten percent of the plant types in the world and some of the most exotic spices. Spice Islands Distilling is the first true artisanal distillery, located in Keramas Beach on the tropical island of Bali. They stand out from other manufacturers especially for their commitment to authentic craft spirits in small batches. The centrepiece of the distillery is the 550-litre still, handmade by CARL in Germany. A second distillery has created the capacity for rum, corn whiskey and agave brandies.

The best botanicals for the Indonesian spirits are sourced on the archipelago. East Indies Archipelago Dry Gin contains kecombrang, Andaliman pepper and kemangi (lemon basil) along with traditional juniper, angelica root and coriander. Bali Pink Pomelo Pink Gin has an aroma of freshly cut grapefruit, complemented by ripe Bedugul strawberries from the highlands of Bali. Banda Fine Spiced Negroni Gin is a tribute to the island of Banda, once the only place in the world where nutmeg and mace grew. Both dominate the spice profile in harmony with citrus fruits.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for East Indies Archipelago Dry Gin and East Indies Banda Spice Negroni Gin, and silver for East Indies Bali Pink Pomelo Gin.

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’.