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Stock Polska – Prestige products with history

Polmos Lublin (known today as Stock Polska) was founded by the industrialist Emil Plage in Lublin in 1906 and was able to survive both world wars and the communist state leadership. The company was nationalised in 1948 and re-privatised in 2001. It traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange until 2005 and was sold in 2006. The new owners, Oaktree Capital Management, purchased the spirits division from Eckes Stock in 2007 and thereby laid the foundations for the current Stock Spirits Group. The company has its headquarters in Luxembourg, its service centre in Great Britain and its production sites in the Czech Republic, Italy and Poland.

Stock dates back to the year 1884 when Lionello Stock founded a beverages business in Trieste. He purchased a distillery in 1920 in what is currently part of the Czech Republic with the aim of tapping into new markets. This was followed by distilleries, bottling plants and warehouses in Italy, Austria, Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia. In the 1920s, Stock was one of the biggest companies of its kind in Europe.

After an absence of 70 years, Stock returned to Poland and began to manufacture at the historic site of Lublin, 150 kilometres south-east of Warsaw. Intensive investment led to the creation of the most modern distillery in Poland and a leadership position on the vodka market. Poland’s most popular flavoured vodka is produced here: Zoladkowa Gorzka.

Lots of Stock products are produced by traditional recipes. These classical brands appeal to connoisseurs all over the world. In return, work is constantly being done on innovations that correspond to modern tastes and new drinking cultures. Quality standards are constantly upheld in both areas, of course.

The quality of the products was recognised at the World Spirits Award with a gold medal for the Orkisz Spelt Vodka.

Diageo – From London to the whole world

Approximately 33,000 employees are employed worldwide at Diageo, the market leader in premium spirits, with Smirnoff (vodka), Johnnie Walker (whiskey), J&B (Scotch whiskey), Baileys (liqueur), Captain Morgan (rum), Cuervo (tequila) and Tanqueray (gin), Guinness beer and branded wines. Production takes place all around the world: from Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Spain and Africa, to the USA, Canada, Latin America, Australia, India and the Caribbean. The global corporation emerged in 1997 from the merger between Guinness and GrandMet. 180 markets around the world are handled from its London headquarters.

A lot of work and lots of attention to detail go into creating the in-depth product descriptions on Diageo’s website. Information and analysis is provided about issues ranging from detailed descriptions of the production down to the most minute ingredients. Finally, they are aware of the size of their company and also of their responsibilities as a supplier of alcoholic products. The name Diageo was also deliberately chosen – it represents their agenda. Put together from ‘dia’ (the Latin word for ‘day’) and ‘geo’ (the Greek word for ‘world’), it means that every day people are celebrating all over the world with products from their company. These products open up possibilities never dreamed of for special days and nights, marking special life events and even making the smaller things in life feel magical.

Participation in the World Spirits Award was magical: there was double gold for Tanqueray No. 10 (Spirit of the Year 2016), gold for Gordon’s London Dry Gin and Tanqueray London Dry Gin, as well as silver for Tanqueray Rangpur.

Rick Spirit: Organic gin made in Austria

After much trying and testing, master distiller Patrick Marchl has brought three varieties of organic gin onto the market: after Rick Rich, the fruity, lemony gin, and Rick Brave, the strong gin with juniper, pepper and ginger, the Mediterranean, summery Rick Feel followed. Rick is a premium organic gin, handmade from pure-ly certified organic ingredients. The focus lies on the highest quality of all raw materials as well as on regionali-ty and sustainability. Only small batches are produced using modern distilling technology.

Production takes place in the southern Styrian village of Gamlitz according to the highest quality standard, London Dry. After his many journeys around the gin world – from England to America – the connoisseur and ‘Gintleman’ decided that home is best, and that his homeland needed a really good gin. “A classic, which leads back to the basics but catapults you into another world with its variety of flavours. A bit like the past meeting future. That was the decisive factor in my motivation for creating a recipe. The gin Big Five – juniper berries, coriander, angelica root, lemon and orange peel – were mixed with dozens of other botanicals such as ginger, liquorice, lemongrass, Kaffir limes and jasmine, to name but a few.”

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Rick Feel Mediterranean Gin, and silver for Rick Rich Dry Gin and Rick Brave London Dry Gin.

Casamigos Tequila – Perfect planning and implementation

Casamigos Tequila is a small range of premium tequila, produced 100% from agaves, which grow in the red clay soil in the cool climate of the highlands of Jalisco in Mexico. This ‘Blue Agave’ – botanical name ‘Agave tequilana F.A.C. Weber’ – belongs to the asparagus family or subfamily of the agave plants. After a maturation period of around eight to ten years, the ‘heart’ of the plant weighs between 50 and 70 kilograms and is known as ‘piña’. Once the roots and leaves have been removed it looks like a huge pineapple.

These raw materials are cooked for 72 hours in the traditional stone ovens, which is much longer than with conventional tequila. The juice that is won during saccharification is very slowly fermented with its own yeasts for about 80 hours, which is twice as long as the industrial standard. It is distilled in traditional copper pot stills, then the Blanco is stored for two months, the Reposado for seven months and the Añejo for 14 months in the best American oak barrels.

The exceptional product was first presented to the public in Miami Beach, Florida, in January 2013 by its ‘discoverers’, George Clooney and Rande Gerber, whose signatures are on the label. Their statement: “Our idea was to make the best-tasting, smoothest tequila around. So we did.”

The jury at the World Spirits Award agreed with this statement and presented double gold three times: for Casamigos Blanco Tequila, Casamigos Reposado Tequila and Casamigos Añejo Tequila.